I Left My Heart on the Wings of Fate
by LockedAndLokied
Summary: For Dick's twenty-fifth birthday, Death, his "adoptive father", if one can even call Death a father, agreed to take him back to Earth. It was a beautiful place, and Dick felt strangely connected to it, but it was far from home. Left alone on Earth to fend for himself, Dick meets a group of people who he would gladly call family. *Sequel to Gift of Death
1. The Colors of Earth

Dick was shaking with excitement. He could hardly sleep last night. See, today was his twenty fifth birthday. And his "adopted" father, Death (yes, Death), agreed to take bring him back to Earth for his birthday.

Dick had not been on Earth since he was about ten, fifteen years ago. He did not remember much about Earth or his life then. Sometimes, Dick would get flashes of memories: a man and a woman smiling at him, bright lights and cheery music, flying through the air. But they were usually too fast for him to grasp completely, so Dick did not bother thinking about them much.

Of course, Death had explained the entire situation to him before. Dick's parents had died, but for some unfathomable reason, their souls could not be reaped because Dick's soul had latched onto theirs. Dick assumed this meant that he loved them very much since only souls that clicked together perfectly could meld.

But it was not Dick's time to die yet. So the reaper was not allowed to take his soul. Death was notified, and even he was baffled. So Death and his twin brother Life carefully brought both Dick's parents' souls and Dick to the Palace of Death, where no living being had ever stepped.

Life and Death carefully extracted Dick's soul from his parents', but in the process, a part of Dick's soul had broken off and went with his parents'. From then, Dick lived at the Palace of Death, under the protection of Death himself.

And Dick was content at the Palace. It was dark and a bit gloomy, sure, but it was pretty fun. The amazing architecture was the best thing to do acrobatic tricks off of, and as much as Death chided him for it, the throne was so much fun to climb on. It was the perfect place to do flips off of. Not to mention, some of the younger reapers were great company.

It did not even bother Dick that he was the only human there. It did not bother Dick that he could not remember his life on Earth.

Then, four months ago, Death went to Earth to reap a specific soul. Dick was left alone at the Palace for a long time. He was bored, and as he lounged on Death's throne, he thought about what Death could be seeing down on Earth.

Dick knew a few things about Earth, as it was his origin planet. A ball of green and blue with wisps of white clouds. It was one of Life's favorite planets since he could be creative and give life to practically anything, unlike on some other planets.

So when Death came back for a short while, after a small mishap with his mission, and in a human form no less, Dick wished for the first time to return to the planet. He had asked Death, who had complied.

Then, a month later, another being came to stay at the Palace of Death. Obviously, Dick was ecstatic. Though Kal-El was a decade or so older that him, and he was not exactly human, he had lived on Earth for his entire life.

Clark, as he liked to go by, was cool. He had so many stories to tell, about Earth mostly, but about a few other planets as well. And, he could fly. Dick had never done thirteen flips in a row while falling before, mostly because he could not get high enough, and he had thrown himself off the top of Fate's tower before.

(He had been grounded for three weeks, not even Earth weeks, and Fate scolded him so harshly, Dick swore he got physical wounds. Fate never let him past the tenth floor of her tower again.)

But today was his twenty fifth birthday. Today, Life and Death would accompany him back to Earth, where he could see the place of his birth again.

"You ready?" Life asked, touching Dick's shoulder gently. Death stood on Dick's other side, arguing quietly with Clark.

Dick nodded enthusiastically. "Utterly."

Death, well, he goes by Bruce in his human form, scowled at Clark, who grinned sheepishly. He bit back some scathing response, spun on his heels and walked towards Life and Dick.

Clark followed, hugging Bruce from behind and held on tighter when Bruce tried halfheartedly to shrug him off.

"Happy birthday, Dick," Clark said, smiling cheerily. Dick loved Clark's attitude. It was a refreshing change from the gloom and doom of Bruce, in any form.

"Thanks," Dick said, breathlessly from barely contained excitement.

"You taking him to Gotham?" Clark asked, murmuring the words into Bruce's ear.

"Yeah," Bruce grumbled. "And I am not bringing you pie. I am not going to run errands, Clark."

"But-"

"Do you think your ma would appreciate if I showed up at her doorstep asking for a pie for her dead son?" Bruce snapped. It sounded like a topic they had been over several times.

"She'll understand."

"No, I am not taking a stop in Kansas."

"It's not even that far from Gotham," Clark argued. "And you can teleport."

"No."

"Bruce."

"No."

Life cleared his throat. "As much as I love a good argument for juicy gossip," he interrupted. "But time moves quicker on Earth. In ten minutes, it might not be Dick's birthday anymore."

Clark sighed, unwinding his arms from Bruce, pecking his cheek one more time. "I think I'll pay your sister a visit." He grinned at Bruce's alarmed expression but flew away before Bruce could say a single word.

"He just likes teasing you," Dick commented. "We all do."

Bruce shot him a glare.

"It's especially funny when you can't control the emotions from showing on your face," Dick said. "Unlike the rest of us, you're not used to the whole human form thing yet."

"I know that," Bruce said through gritted teeth, irritation flashing across his face, proving Dick's point. "Let us just go."

Dick exchanged an amused and slightly exasperated look with Life.

Life smiled and gently put a hand over Dick's eyes, and he was plunged into darkness.

When Life removed his hand, seemingly a moment later, Dick was standing outside. Blue skies stretched from horizon to horizon above him. People rushed around them, talking on phones, pulling small children, all rushing from place to place.

None of them paid the three of them any attention.

"Welcome to Earth," Bruce said quietly. He let Dick take in the world around him.

"Wow," Dick breathed. It was glamorous. It was beautiful. It was everything yet nothing like what he imagined.

"Come," Bruce said. "I'll show you around."

* * *

Dick found everything amazing. It was all new and all beautiful. Dick quickly found out that they were invisible to other humans, but he did not mind. He knew the issues that could arise were they not invisible.

They watched the sun set on a tall building. Not as tall as Fate's tower, nor was it the tallest building in the city, but it was the perfect place to watch the golden orb sink below the skyline.

"What do you think?" Bruce asked after the sun disappeared, painting the sky in bold reds, oranges, and purples.

"I have no words," Dick said honestly. "I love it all, and I can't get enough of it. The people, the food, the sights, everything."

"Then, perhaps you would like to spend some more time here?" Bruce asked.

Dick's eyes lit up. "Really? Can I?"

"Of course. Until your birthday is over back home. That gives you about two Earth weeks."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Dick crowed. "That'd be amazing, thank you!"

Bruce smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "Now, I must be heading back. My brother and I will come for you in two weeks' time. Be ready."

Dick nodded. "I will. Thank you, B. For everything."

Bruce stood. He patted Dick with his gloved hand. On Earth, he could not touch Dick without Dick dying, whether it was his time or not. In the Palace, Death's powers were neutralized. Anywhere else, they were... well, deadly.

"Happy birthday, Dick," Bruce said before blinking out of existence.

Dick sat on the top of the building, watching the last of the colors disappear into a deep black-blue. Then, twinkling lights appeared. It took Dick a moment to realize that those were the stars.

They looked so tiny on Earth, compared to their actual sizes. Dick had taken a trip to a star planet before, with Life. He did not spend much time on the planet since Life's powers could only sustain him so long on the burning surface of the star, but it was certainly an experience Dick will never forget.

He watched the stars, trying to guess which one was which. He watched the city come to life again at night, and it was a whole different view from what it was like during the day.

Dick was enamored all over again.

Dick did not know how long he had been sitting there. He was not very good with Earth time. A few hours at least.

But he was startled out of his thoughts when someone landed on the rooftop behind him.

Dick turned around to see a dark figure walking towards him.

"Who are you?" the figure growled. They pointed a strange contraption at him. Dick made a puzzled face and titled his head. He stood up.

"Hi," Dick said. Apparently, the invisibility had worn off. "I'm Dick."

The figure was silent for a moment. "I didn't ask for your name, idiot. Who do you work for?"

Dick was not sure what the figure meant. "I... don't exactly work for anybody," he said. He could not just go out and say that he occasionally helped Death out with taking people's souls.

The figure stepped closer. He was dressed in black and dark grey clothing, and a worn, brown leather jacket. A dark red kind of triangular symbol emblazoned on his chest. And a bright red helmet covering his entire face. He looked ridiculous in other words.

Dick burst out laughing. He could not help it.

"C-Can you see from under that?" Dick asked. "Doesn't it, I don't know, block your peripheral vision? But it is pretty shiny. Where'd you get it? And what's that?" He pointed to the odd black object in the man's (he was pretty sure this was a man) hand. "Are you offering it to me?"

The man did not move. "I can't tell if you're shitting me."

Dick's expression turned horrified. "That is disgusting! Unsanitary and absolutely preposterous!" Then, he paused. "Wait, that would not actually make much sense in this context, so did you mean something else? Is there something I'm not understanding here?"

"... I meant, I can't tell if you're joking."

Dick brightened and smiled. "Ohh, that makes more sense now. And no, why would I be joking? I'm no comedian and certainly not as funny as-" he stopped. He had been about to say "some of Death's reapers", but that probably would not go over too well. "Never mind. Anyway, what are you doing up here?" Dick asked. "Are you watching the stars too?"

The man did not answer. He slowly lowered the odd object though. "You should probably just go back home. It's dangerous out here at night."

Dick's smile faltered. "Oh... sorry, did you want me off the roof? It's okay. I'll find somewhere else to watch the stars." He started to walk towards the building edge.

"No, I meant, go home. It's dangerous."

Dick turned back towards the man. His face was slightly puzzled. "How so?"

"You're in Gotham City. What do you think?"

Dick shrugged. He waited for the man to elaborate.

The man huffed. "The criminals?" He waved his hands like it was obvious. Dick just stared at him blankly. "For fuck's sake! Have you been living under a rock? Gotham City is the most crime ridden city in the world! How do you not know this and live here?"

"I don't live here," Dick said, still confused.

The man growled in frustration. "You know what, just- just go back to wherever you're staying tonight. I won't shoot you this time because you seem harmless enough, but if I find out you're actually working for some crime lord or something, I won't hesitate to disembowel you."

Dick gave him a confused, a little worried, and a touch alarmed look. "Okay...? Um, good night, I guess."

He stepped off of the side of the building, letting himself free fall.

Halfway down the side, he jolted to a stop as an arm latched around his waist, and he started shooting upwards again.

"Hey!" Dick said, a bit angrily.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" the man with the red helmet screamed. "You nearly fucking died!"

Dick stumbled onto the roof of another building. He spun around and crossed his arms. "What did you do that for?"

"I saved your life, idiot!" the man screeched.

"Saved my life? I wasn't dying!" Dick protested. "I was getting off the roof like you wanted!"

"By jumping off the side of the building?!" the man yelled, gesturing down towards the city.

Dick pouted. "I could've stuck the landing."

"Yeah, in a crumpled, bloody pancake!"

"You have little faith in my skills," Dick said with a slight scoff. "I've jumped off higher."

"Are you suicidal or simply crazy?" the man asked, sounding breathless and bewildered. "I can't understand you, man! And I just met you! For all I knew, you were trying to kill yourself!"

Dick rolled his eyes. "Well, now you know." He harrumphed. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to find somewhere else to watch the stars." He walked towards the edge again.

"I'm not letting you jump off," the man said gruffly. He stood between Dick and the edge of the building. "I'll take you back to whatever hotel you're staying at."

Dick sighed heavily. "I told you, I don't live here. I don't have a- a hotel or whatever that is. I'm just wanted to watch the stars."

"You have nowhere to stay?"

"No," Dick said.

The man was silent for a few moments. "C'mon," he finally said. "I'll take you somewhere." He held out his hand.

Dick stared at the hand for a few moments. "Okay," he said. He shrugged and took the man's hand.

The man froze in bewilderment for a moment again. Then, he shook his head and muttered something under his breath. He pulled Dick to his side and put an arm around Dick's waist.

"Hang on," he said, pulling out a contraption similar to one that was pointed at Dick before. Something shot out of the end, and a moment later, the man pulled them off of the side of the building.

Dick was delightfully surprised for a moment. Then, they went up to another building. Then, they did it again, and again, and again.

Dick decided it was not too bad. Sure, it was not compared to free fall and flips, but it was pretty fun. Like a large swing.

They landed on a rickety metal fire escape. They were not very high up anymore. Only six floors up. Dick made a disappointed noise. The man in the red helmet tapped the glass window.

A moment later, it opened, and a man poked his head out.

He had glasses perched on his nose, and his brown hair was streaked with white. A large mustache sat under his nose, like a fat, hairy worm. The man looked from the man with the red helmet to Dick then back again.

"What's this, Hood?" the man asked.

"I need a favor, Jim," Hood (whose name was Hood?) said. He gestured to Dick. "Can you take him for the night?"

The man's eyebrows shot up. "You couldn't put him anywhere else?" he grumbled, looking at Dick. Dick gave him a bright smile, and then went back to examining the potted plants.

"I don't really know what's wrong with him. But he's harmless," Hood said. "A bit odd. Tried to jump off a twenty story building to get off the roof."

"So he's like you."

"Without a grappling gun. I think he's just a bit confused. I'll be back tomorrow," Hood said quietly.

Then, a voice from behind the older man asked, "Who's there, Dad?"

Another head squished through the window. A girl with long red hair. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Her eyes landed on Dick first, then they shifted to Hood.

"Oh, hey, Hood," she said. "Who's this?"

They all looked at Dick. Dick stood up and smiled at them. "I'm Dick."

They just stared at him a moment longer. None of them introduced themselves. Hushed conversation continued without him again. Then, the girl backed out of the window, and her father followed, fixing Dick with another glare.

Hood turned to Dick. "You'll stay here tonight," he said. "I'll send someone to check on your tomorrow. And don't you dare try anything. Barbara has my number, and I will come find you."

Dick smiled. "Okay," he said. "Oh, and hey, I'm sorry."

Hood paused where he had started to climb over the railing of the fire escape. "For what?"

"It must have sucked to grow up with a name like Hood," Dick said honestly. "But don't worry. It fits you! Kinda like Robin Hood, yeah?"

The man twitched, but he said nothing.

From inside the building, the girl, Barbara laughed. The man took off into the night, leaving Dick a little confused, on the fire escape.

Barbara stuck her head back through the window. "Well, come in, Dick. It might be a bit hard to climb through the window, but you should manage."

It was no problem for Dick at all. He slipped through like water and stood in the small kitchen, in front of Barbara and Barbara's father, who still glared at him.

"You have a very nice home," Dick commented.

"Thanks," the man grunted. He glared at Dick for a moment longer. Then, he turned around and started walking off, muttering to himself, "I swear if that boy starts bringing around more strange men..."

"Okay, good night," Dick called after him.

Barbara laughed. "Don't worry about Dad. He's... He worries about me. So, Dick, where do you come from? Tea or coffee?"

Dick made a face. "What are those?"

"Seriously? You don't know what tea or coffee is?"

"No..."

"Geez, you must've hit your head hard," Barbara said. "No matter. What do you know?"

Dick thought about it for a moment. "Well, I think Gotham is a very beautiful city, and Earth is the most amazing planet I've ever been on. And you are the nicest and prettiest person I've seen today."

Barbara laughed. "I don't know what drugs you've taken, but you're certainly funny. Tell me more, Dick."

She set a steaming mug of murky brown liquid in front of Dick. She held a similar mug in front of her. She drank it, so Dick copied her. His eyes lit up. "And this is the best thing I've ever drank before!"

Barbara laughed.

* * *

 **A/N ~ Hey, it's been a while since I've done anything here! Apologies. But this is a JayDick story, a sequel to Gift of Death (Superbat), but you do not have to read GoD to read this. Enjoy!**


	2. Familiar A Lifetime Ago

Jim Gordon, Barbara's father sat down in front of Dick. Barbara hovered near the doorway, but a hard look from her father, she left.

Dick could sense some sort of tension in the air, but he did not know from what.

"So, Barbara says you don't know anything about anything," Jim said.

"Well, I kind of do," Dick said.

"Where are you right now?" Jim challenged.

"I'm on Earth. Gotham City, my birthplace," Dick said.

"So you haven't been back here in a long time, I'm assuming. Where do you come from?" Jim asked.

Dick knew he certainly could not say the Palace of Death. So he just said, "I don't- I don't know."

Jim grunted. "What's your name? Your full name."

"Dick Grayson," Dick said, smiling. He knew this one.

Jim turned pale. "Grayson? Like John and Mary Grayson?"

"Er... don't know who they are, sorry." Dick made a wry face.

Jim's eyes narrowed, staring hard at Dick. "Dick Grayson... John and Mary's kid's name was Richard Grayson. Could it be?"

"Could what be?" Dick asked.

"Who are your parents?"

"I don't know," Dick admitted. "They died when I was like, ten. Don't remember much about them."

"Batman's bollucks, you are," Jim said. "How did you get here? Can you remember anything?"

Dick was feeling a bit more irritated now. He felt like he was being interrogated, which he probably was. "No, I don't! I don't know what you're talking about!"

Jim stared at him hard a little while longer. Then, he sighed. "Okay. You can take the guest room. Barbara, will you show Mr. Grayson to his room?"

Barbara slipped around the corner, a sheepish smile on her face. She had obviously been eavesdropping. "Sorry," she said. "C'mon, Dick. This way."

Dick followed Barbara through the rather large apartment. There were pictures of Barbara of all different ages on the walls. Some with her father, a couple younger ones with a woman who also had fiery red hair. The only picture that did not quite fit in was the picture with the most people.

Dick did a quick headcount. There were eleven people in total, and one of them was a large black dog. Dick found the phot quite amusing. Half of the people in the picture were scowling at the camera and the rest were beaming. Dick wondered what the story behind the picture was.

Barbara noticed him staring at the picture.

"Oh, that's my other family."

"Other family?" Dick asked.

Barbara nodded. "My best friends and such. They're like a family to me."

"Oh. That must be nice," Dick said.

Barbara gave him a slightly pitiful look. She touched his arm but said nothing. Dick did not know why she looked sympathetic. Dick did not mind that he did not have human friends. He was perfectly content with his life.

"Here," Barbara said. She gestured to the guest room. "I'm just down the hall, so you can come find me if you need anything. My father is across from mine. The bathroom is just across the hall from you."

"Thank you, Barbara," Dick said. "You're being very kind."

Barbara blushed slightly in the darkness. "What can I say?" Barbara said with a slightly embarrassed laugh. "My life's been taken over by dark haired, blue eyes people who have a pretty face."

Dick made a puzzled expression, but decided to take it as a compliment. "Thanks...?"

"Get some sleep, Dick," Barbara said as she walked down the hall towards her room. "We'll figure out what you're doing here tomorrow. I'll also show you around the city. You're right, you know. Gotham's beautiful in her own way."

Dick beamed and nodded. "Good night, Barbara."

"Night, Dick."

* * *

"I've never had ice cream before," Dick said, taking another long lick from his chocolate cone. "Though, I don't taste the ice. It should just be called frozen cream."

Barbara, taking bites of her mint chip, laughed. "Lots of things don't make sense around here, Dick."

"Indeed."

"So, tell me about yourself, Dick. What do you like? What do you want to do in your life?" Barbara sucked a large chunk of ice cream away from the scoop. A few drops of melted ice cream ran down her hand. She licked them away.

Dick looked thoughtfully up at the tall buildings. "I like Earth. It's a beautiful place."

"You keep saying that," Barbara said. "You say it like you're not from here. But you also said you were born in Gotham? And my dad seems to think you're the Dick Grayson that mysteriously disappeared fifteen years ago."

Dick shrugged.

Barbara sighed heavily. "Okay, no more talking about your past. How's that? We'll go grab burgers and talk about Earth's beauty."

Dick smiled. He followed Barbara into a nearby burger joint. Dick had heard about burgers from Life before. And it did look pretty appetizing. Barbara ordered for him and they sat down in a booth while waiting.

The little bells on the door jingled as it opened again. Barbara's face lit up as she waved at the new arrival.

"Jason!" Barbara called. Dick turned and looked to see who was heading their way.

A man in a bright red sweatshirt, his hands digging into his pockets slouched towards them. He wore black skinny jeans that hugged his legs perfectly. Dick remembered what Barbara had said last night, about dark haired, blue eyed people with a pretty face.

This man definitely had that look.

But he wore a dark expression, like Clark had refused to fly him a hundred feet into the air again because Bruce scolded him.

He sat down next to Barbara and stared at Dick.

"You're him," Dick said.

Both Barbara and Jason stiffened. "Who?" Jason asked. His voice had a colder tint to it.

"The one in the picture. On Barbara's wall," Dick said. His eyebrows furrowed at the hint of hostility in Jason's voice.

Both Jason and Barbara relaxed. "Oh, yeah. He's one of my best friends. Jason, this is Dick Grayson. Dick, Jason."

Dick saw Jason mouth, Grayson? to Barbara, who shrugged. Dick was about to tell them he had no idea who John and Mary Grayson were, despite the fact they apparently they had the same last name and the two in question had had a kid named Richard.

But he was cut off as their food arrived, brought by a pretty blonde girl.

"Thank you!" Dick said. The girl blushed and gave him a little wink as she walked away. Dick smiled at her.

"Nuh uh," Jason said. He stole one of Barbara's fries. "That girl is bad news."

Dick blinked at him. "What do you mean? She seems nice."

"You're new," he said. "She plays every guy around here like a violin. She's got a pretty face, but she's no good."

Dick's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you instituting that she was flirting with me?"

Jason made an almost amused face as he snagged another fry. "Uh, yeah. Watch. She'll slip her number onto a napkin later."

Dick wanted to say that he did not know she was flirting because reapers were a lot less subtle when flirting. In fact, they usually just skipped over that step altogether. Dick's face burned a bit. He felt rather stupid because he thought he knew a lot about Earth, but apparently he knew close to nothing.

"So when someone winks at you, it means their flirting?" Dick asked, leaning in.

Jason took Barbara's drink as well, much to her dismay. "Generally."

Dick nodded solemnly.

"Dude, how do you not know this stuff?" Jason asked. "It's like you've never had human contact before," he joked.

Dick cracked a small smile, one that he hoped was convincing. "Heh."

"Oh, Jay," Barbara cut in. "Have you seen that new movie yet?"

Jason reached for another fry, but Barbara viciously slapped his hand away. So Jason went for Dick's fries instead. Dick pushed his plate towards Jason. Jason's eyebrows raised, but he took a couple fries. Dick smiled.

"Mm, haven't had time," Jason said. "D'you?"

"Nah. Thought we could go see it together?" Barbara smiled at Dick. "You like superhero movies?"

Dick beamed. "I love superheroes! I had a friend-" he snapped his mouth shut. He had been about to tell them about Clark, but he remember that Clark was supposed to be dead.

"Had a friend what?" Barbara asked.

"Ah, it's nothing," Dick said with a smile. "He's dead."

"Oh." Jason and Barbara exchanged glances. "Um, I'm sorry, Dick," Barbara said softly.

Dick grinned. "Oh, no, it's no big deal. It all worked out in the end."

They exchanged glances again. Jason laughed uneasily. "So you want to come watch that movie with us?"

"Sure!" Dick said. "I've never watched a movie before. Is it fun?"

Jason's expression was incredulous. He stared at Dick for a long time, as if trying to decipher the secret meaning behind Dick's words, which Dick did not understand because there was no hidden meaning. "Depends," he finally answered. "On the movie and the people sitting around you, I guess."

"Mkay," Dick said. He took a long slurp of his milkshake. Jason took another fry, still staring at Dick. Dick tipped his milkshake cup towards Jason. "Hm?" Jason's face became somewhat amused again. He slowly shook his head.

"No thanks."

Dick shrugged and slurped the rest of his drink. Barbara and Jason exchanged another look Dick did not understand. They waved the pretty blonde waitress over again. And sure enough, she slipped Dick a napkin.

Dick looked at it. Call me, handsome, it read. Dick frowned.

"What, don't want her number anymore?" Jason teased.

Dick shook his head slowly. "No, I don't have a phone. I can't call her if I don't have a phone, can I?"

"Wait, you're actually going to call her?"

"Wouldn't it be rude not to?" Dick asked.

Jason stared at him with wide eyes. "You're weird, man." He stood. "C'mon, let's just go." He snatched the napkin from Dick. "And don't call her." He tossed the paper into the trashcan on the way out.

They made their way down the street a couple more blocks until they came to a movie theater.

Barbara bought the tickets, Jason bought the popcorn and drinks and Dick marveled in the wonders of the theater. They settled in the back of the theater, which had few people, thankfully, since it was the middle of the day on a weekday.

"This is so exciting," Dick said loudly.

A few people turned around and glared at him. Jason explained why they had to be quiet in the theater. Dick looked mortified, and he shut himself up. The movie started, and Dick watched the entire thing with wide eyes. It was quite comical.

Both Barbara and Jason sat on either side of Dick, occasionally meeting each other's' eyes, looking at Dick, then back again. Jason had no idea what the movie was about, but Dick seemed to find it amazing.

As they walked out of the dark theater into the sunlit streets, the sun was hanging low in the sky now. Barbara and Jason had walked out behind Dick, talking in hushed voices.

"Hey, Dick," Jason called.

"Hm?" Dick turned around.

"Listen, so Barbara's got some business tonight, and she doesn't think her father would appreciate you staying at their apartment for another night-"

"Oh, that's totally okay," Dick said with a smile. "I'll just go find somewhere to watch the stars again."

Jason blinked at him slowly before speaking again. "I was going to ask if you wanted to stay with me tonight instead. I live up in the hills. It's, erm, it also has a pretty good view of the stars. Less light pollution... if you want."

Dick gasped. "Really? You don't have to, Jason. I don't want to intrude or anything."

Jason shook his head. "You won't be, trust me. Could use the company. It gets... pretty boring up there."

"Okay then," Dick said.

With that figured out, Barbara excused herself and started back the way they had come. "Hey, I'm going to go now," she said. "Promised to run a couple errands for Dad before I go."

Jason gave her a wave, and Dick smiled and waved as well.

Jason led Dick further down the street, his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"So is Barbara your girlfriend?" Dick asked. "She's very nice."

"Oh, no," Jason said with an easy laugh. "We tried once. Did not work out. So we're just friends."

"Oh," Dick said. "So you said you lived up in the hills? There are hills in the city?"

"They're near the outskirts. The estates."

"Estates? Like a mansion?" Dick asked.

Jason chuckled, a little bitterly. "Not mine, necessarily. Belonged to my adoptive father." There was a slightly harder edge to the word "adoptive". Jason stared hard at the ground. "He's the billionaire. But... he's gone now. It's just me and my younger, also adopted brother. Oh, and our butler. We have lots of friends that stay at the manor on and off so they're kind of like family, I guess."

"Is that why you said it's boring?" Dick asked. "It actually sounds kind of nice. Away from the bustle of the city, great view of the stars."

Jason laughed. "Yeah, I'm not much of a star person. Here's my car. Hop in."

They got in the sports car and Jason roared off into the fading afternoon. Dick rolled the window all the way down, letting the wind hit his face and whip his hair around. It reminded Jason of a long haired dog. In other words, it was unfortunately endearing.

They pulled up in front of Wayne Manor, and Jason parked the car in a garage with at least a dozen other cars. As they made their way through the front door, they were greeted by an older man.

"Alfred!" Jason nodded at the man and smiled. "This is Dick, Dick Grayson. And Dick, this is the butler, Alfred. But he's more like a father. Practically raised everyone in this house."

Dick shook Alfred's hand. He followed Jason through the foyer and into the main hallway. He stared at the ornate décor and the beautiful designs. "It's amazing in here," Dick said. "It's- It's like a palace."

Jason shook his head. "Yeah, Bruce had rich tastes. But I think he just liked showing off."

Dick bristled and quickly cleared his throat. "Sorry, Bruce?"

"Yeah, that's my adoptive father."

Dick nearly choked. But he smiled and nodded like he understood.

"Why, did you know him?" Jason turned towards him with a calculating look.

Dick started to say no, but then, he looked through an open door and saw a large painting hanging on the opposite wall, over a fireplace. "Is that him?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah."

Flying.

Bright lights.

Screams.

His face in the crowd, rushing forward, quickly marred by tears.

Black.

Dick blinked and shook himself. He could have sworn he had seen that face somewhere before. The man in the painting did look kind of similar to Death's human form Bruce with black hair and blue eyes, but there were significant differences.

Death's human form was much paler, and he kept his hair longer. Death's blue eyes were also lighter. But for some reason, Dick could not shake the feeling he knew this Bruce too. At least he'd seen him before, which could not be possible.

Wait, did Clark not mention he once had a friend name Bruce? And he had died?

Dick's eyebrows furrowed. "When did he die?" He asked blatantly.

Jason gave him an odd look. "Uh, a couple years ago. Car... accident. What's wrong, Dick?"

Dick tried to tear his eyes away from the painting of the smiling man. Either the artist was really bad at capturing the essence of the man, or he was really good and the man just had a really fake smile.

"Clark's Bruce?" Dick muttered under his breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jason tense up.

"What did you say?" Jason barked.

"Nothing," Dick said, finally breaking away. He smiled. "My condolences."

Jason narrowed his eyes at him for a long time. "Yeah, well... I wasn't really close to him anyway. C'mon, let's go find Tim. He's the other resident in this forsaken place."

"Resident?" Dick asked with a laugh. "You sound like you don't like your brother much."

"Adopted," Jason said. "He's adopted. I'm adopted. Entire fucking family's adopted. But yeah. He's pretty irritating. But should he actually need help or something, I might help him." Jason gave Dick a sharp glare. "Don't tell him I said that."

"Promise," Dick said, grinning.

Just then, someone walked around the corner, yawning. He had a tablet in his hand, and he was staring intently at it.

"Ah, there's Tim," Jason said. "Hey, Timbo!"

"Morning, Jay," Tim mumbled before walking past them, not once looking up.

Jason rolled his eyes. "He's like this weird zombie kid," he explained to Dick. "Lives on coffee and seems dead to the world, but you say the right words and it's like someone flipped a switch in him. I don't bother with him much."

"He seems nice," Dick said, looking behind them. Tim walked into a closed door. He opened it and then tripped over the rug.

"You think everyone's nice, Dick," Jason snorted. "You're too nice."


	3. That Thing From the Movies

The manor was dark and quiet.

Literally not a sound could be heard in the entire place, apart from his breathing, but it did not scare him. Instead, it felt calming, familiar. If Dick closed his eyes, he could almost imagine himself being back at the Palace of Death. Back home. Odd, how he could be in a totally strange place but still feel at home.

Dick walked down the darkened hallways, lit up only by the sparse moonlight. His bare feet made no sound as they traveled across the carpet. After Jason said Dick should probably be getting to bed soon, Dick saw nothing more of him.

Dick did not know where Jason's room was, nor did he want to search and pry, but he did see pass Tim's room once. The door had been open a tiny bit and Tim was sitting at his desk, asleep, pencil dangling from his fingers.

Not only was Dick alone, he was having a bit of troubles sleeping. For some reason, he could not shake the odd feeling of the manor. Sure, it was comforting and familiar, but it made Dick a bit antsy too.

So he walked.

On his fourth round of the manor, around two in the morning, Dick nearly ran into someone in the dark. He had to stifle a shout.

"Jason?" he whispered.

Jason looked like he had just seen a reaper, eyes bugging out. "Dick?" he breathed back. "What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep," Dick admitted. "I'm assuming you had the same issue?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah. Nightmares."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Dick said sympathetically, patting Jason's shoulder. Jason winced slightly. "Oops, my hands kind of cold," he said. "Sorry about that."

Jason was silent for a moment. "So um, ever had a drink before?"

"What kind of drink?" Dick asked, puzzled. "Like water?"

Jason grinned. "Alcoholic."

"No, I've heard of it though," Dick said. "Heard it tastes gross."

"It does," Jason agreed. "But you stop tasting it after your first three glasses. You, uh, wanna join me? I was going to sneak some scotch from Bruce's secret stash."

Dick followed him up the hall, into a large study, it seemed. Dick's eyebrows furrowed as Jason opened an unassuming cabinet and pulled out a bottle of amber liquid. Jason grinned, his white teeth flashing in the moonlight. He looked younger than he seemed in the sun. Dick smiled back, not really knowing why. He was pretty sure stealing was a bad thing, but Jason did it, so it could not be that horrible, right?

"If you know about the stash, why is it still secret?" Dick asked as Jason tiptoed out of the room and closed it behind him quietly.

"Because," Jason said. "Bruce thought no one knew about it. But Alfred keeps the wine cellar locked up with a passcode only he know, and he would know if I broke in. Besides, Bruce's gone now, so it's not like he actually needs the liquid courage. And I think Alfred knows I take the alcohol from there, but he still keeps refilling it." Jason opened the bottle, taking a long swig straight from the bottle.

He led them to the library, where he magically procured two glasses, pouring one for himself, drinking it, then pouring some into both and handing one to Dick. Jason raised his glass, giving Dick a smile. "To your first sip."

The clinked glasses and Dick raised the glass to his lips, aware that Jason was watching him closely. He took a small sip, letting the liquid burn down his throat. It was not particularly good, but it was not detestable either. It created a sense of warmth down to his stomach. He took another sip, a bit longer this time.

"Not bad, eh?" Jason asked.

Dick shrugged. "Not sure yet."

"Don't worry. It's usually an acquired taste. Took me two and a half full bottles, all by myself, though not at once." Jason went silent for a moment. "It was during the week after Bruce died. I was upset. Drank a lot. Found Bruce's stash and... yeah."

"How did your father die?"

"He's not my father," Jason said. Then, more quietly. "There was a car accident." He laughed quietly. "If I knew him at all, the last thing that would have killed him was a freak car accident, but... that's the truth."

"Death is inevitable for everyone."

"Aren't you a fucking ray of sunshine," Jason said sarcastically. He knocked back the rest of his drink. "Let's not talk about death anymore. Sensitive topic. Who are you, Dick? I want to know who you are."

Dick pulled a face, finishing off his drink. Jason immediately filled his glass again. Dick wanted to protest, but Jason had already started pouring. "What do you mean, who am I? I'm Dick Grayson, of Earth."

"Of Earth," Jason said. "Aren't we all?"

"Not everyone on this planet is from Earth," Dick said.

Jason raised his eyebrows. At least, Dick thought so. It was hard to tell in the dark. "So you know about aliens?"

"Aliens... I guess that's one way to put it."

"What do you call them?"

Dick shrugged. "There's just people. Other people, from other worlds. Maybe not human, but they're still people."

"You are very strange, Dick Grayson."

"Is that a bad thing?" Dick asked.

Jason laughed humorlessly. "In this world? Unfortunately. Strange brings a lot of enemies."

Dick tilted his head to the side. "Are you strange, Jason?"

"You tell me, Dick. I think my judgement may be biased."

"No... you're not strange," Dick said. "I have met many strange people. You are not like them."

"Sometimes I don't understand you, Dick," Jason said. "You don't know a lot of little things about Earth, you claim you haven't done this or that, but then you talk and you make it sound like you've been all over the world, all over the universe, in fact." Jason leaned forward, setting his glass down. "Tell me, Dick. Where are you from, exactly? And if you say Earth again, I swear I'll break your face."

Dick froze, eyes wide and staring at Jason in horror. Jason noticed that.

"Oh fuck, sorry, sorry, Dick!" He said hurriedly. "Okay, I thought for a moment you were some alien creep that came to kill me or something. Fuck, I'm so sorry, I didn't meant to threaten you."

Dick felt hurt. He wanted to curl up in himself.

"Fuck, Dick..." Jason stood and carded a hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry, man. I didn't mean that. Please forget I said that."

Dick did not answer. Jason suddenly moved to leave, unable to stand the silence, and he was not about to fall on his knees and beg either.

But as he got to the doorway, he heard Dick say softly, "I am from Earth." It made him pause. And Dick continued, "But I don't live here."

Jason slowly turned. He made his way back to the chairs.

Dick had his head hung, his fingers curled tightly around the glass. His voice was tight as well. "I didn't tell you because you wouldn't have believed me anyway. You'd have thought I was crazier than you already do."

Jason sat down in his seat again. "I don't think you're crazy."

"You will."

"Try me. You're not the only one who's seen a whole lot of weird," he said softly.

Dick continued, but did not look up. "I'm not from Earth. My home is at the Palace of Death. Death himself raised me. I was taken from Earth when I was ten. I don't remember anything from my past on Earth, and I have not been back since that time."

"You were taken? Like- Like kidnapped?" Jason asked.

Dick shook his head. "Life and Death had no choice. My parents were supposed to die, but their souls could not be extracted because of me."

"And... Death, like grim reaper Death?"

"Something like that," Dick said. He finally looked up. "You- You believe me?"

Jason shrugged. "Again, I've seen a whole lot of weird in my life too, Dickie."

Dick quirked half a smile at that. "Thank you," he breathed.

Jason gave him a comforting smile. "I hope you know I was not purposely trying to threaten you."

Dick nodded.

"Okay," Jason said. "So what does Death look like?"

Dick shrugged. "Anyway he wants. He can change forms."

"But what does his true form look like? Is it like how people draw it? Him? Is Death a him?" At Dick's nod, Jason continued. "So is he all black robes and ragged hood with a giant scythe?"

Dick nodded slowly. "That is one of his forms. I don't believe it's his true form, but it is the form that requires the least amount of energy and is closest to his true form. I guess you can call it his true, natural form. His true form is more of a ball of energy-like thing that is invisible to all living beings. Only reapers and his siblings can seen him. Even Clark can't see him."

Jason made an odd face. "Who's... Clark?"

"Oh, his boyfriend."

"Death- Death has a boyfriend?" Jason asked, eyes bugging out and laughing a bit. "You're joking right?"

Dick made a confused face. "You believe everything I've said so far and that's the unbelievable part?"

Jason just smiled. "No, no, I believe you. It just... I used to know a Clark."

Dick smiled. "Oh, yeah. That's him."

"...we can't be talking about the same person," Jason said. "He's..."

"Clark Kent, he has dark hair, blue eyes..."

"Died three months ago?" Jason finished. At Dick's enthusiastic nod, Jason said, "How?"

"Life brought him back for Death's sake," Dick explained. "Death was... upset is an understatement."

"That Clark died? He's Death, isn't he?" Jason asked.

Dick nodded. "It's a very long, complicated story. All that's important is that everyone is happy in the end right? And they're very happy, I promise."

Jason sank deep into his chair, trying to wrap his mind around it all. "Fuck." He stared at Dick, who looked back, unashamed.

After a long, long silence of just staring at each other, Dick said quietly, "Is it like in the movie?"

Jason jolted out of his stupor. "Huh?"

"In the movie," Dick said, waving his hand. "Earlier? After saving the world, the hero ran to the girl, and they stared at each other for a long while then they... did that thing."

Jason racked his brain for an answer. "Are you- Are you talking about a kiss? Where they touched lips?"

Dick nodded. "Reapers don't have... kisses. Or mouths for that matter. I've seen Death and Clark do it a couple times, but other than that, never."

Jason stared at him incredulously. "So you're twenty-something, have not had alcohol, watched a movie, or shared a kiss with someone?" He laughed. "Wow, you're really losing."

Dick made a confused face. "What am I losing?"

Jason just smiled and shook his head. He stood and was suddenly towering over Dick, his arms on the armrests to keep him up. Dick had to look straight up at him.

"Nothing, Dickie," Jason murmured. He brought a hand up to Dick's cheek. "I'll make you win, don't worry."

Then, he did that thing from the movie.


	4. Intimidation

Dick was up bright and early the next morning, giddy as ever.

He felt like he was floating and flying. He checked several times to make sure he did not accidentally develop Superman-esque powers overnight. But that did not stop him from cartwheeling all the way from his bedroom to the kitchen.

Alfred believed it ridiculous to use the dining room when there was only four of them regularly. No one was up yet, but that did not hinder Dick.

Despite the fact that he only got three hours sleep and his head was throbbing a little bit, Dick could not keep the smile off his face. In fact, the floating feeling also seemed to be helping his headache.

That was how Alfred found Dick a little while later, sitting in the kitchen, his hands wrapped around half a glass of milk, staring off into the distance with a dreamy smile on his face.

"Mister Grayson," Alfred said. "You are sure up early."

"Hm? Oh, yeah," Dick murmured. "Beautiful day."

Alfred decided not to mention the fact that the curtains were drawn. Instead, he started to make coffee and breakfast.

"Have you eaten yet?"

Dick hummed. "No, she sounds like an amazing person."

"Mr. Grayson?"

"Dick."

Alfred cleared his throat. "Okay, Mr. Dick. Are you feeling alright?"

"Splendid."

"So what would you like for breakfast?"

"Fries and milkshakes. Jason likes 'em," Dick said in the same light, dreamy voice.

Alfred said nothing after that. But when he did finish making breakfast, Tim stumbled into the kitchen, looking more awake than the day before.

"Hey," Tim greeted. "Dick, right? I'm Tim. Don't think I introduced myself yesterday," he said with a small chuckle.

Dick shook Tim's hand. He did not say anything back though.

"Um... so, did you sleep well last night?" Tim asked, sipping on his coffee and watching Dick.

"Wonderful."

"Okay," Tim said quietly. He ceased any attempts to draw Dick into conversation after that.  
Breakfast was also a quiet affair, and Jason was missing, but apparently no one was too worried. Dick barely noticed either. He was too wound up in his daydreams. But after he ate some really good pancakes, his headache cleared a bit, and the sleepy-dreamy stupor ebbed away.

"Where's Jason?" Dick asked, looking around, as if noticing he was only in the kitchen with Tim.

"Probably sleeping," Tim said. "Might've been one of his rough nights. Happens, we both have 'em from time to time."

Dick nodded. "Yeah, he told me about them."

Tim barely hid his surprise. "He did?"

Dick nodded. "He said he's been having trouble sleeping and such. I did too, so I was wandering around last night."

"Oh, yes, he has bad insomnia."

Dick finished his milk and smiled at Tim. "Hey, what do you do around here besides being on that tablet all day? Don't you have school?"

Tim shrugged. "I take online college courses. Not much, other than that."

"No friends?"

Tim shrugged again. "A few. Mostly Jason's friends."

Dick made a thoughtful sound. "How flexible are you?" he asked.

Tim gave him an odd look. "That was random. Pretty flexible, I guess. I'm not acrobat, if that's what you're asking. And uh." Tim pointed to his own face, gesturing at wiping it. Dick stared at him blankly. "You've got milk... all over."

"Oh, thanks!" Dick wiped his mouth, smiling bright at Tim.

Tim gave him an uncertain grimace-smile.

"You've got any room that's big? And spacious?" Dick asked, stretching his arms.

"The foyer?"

"That works," Dick said. "C'mon, let me show you some tricks."

* * *

When Jason finally pulled himself out of bed, closer to lunchtime than breakfast, he followed the loud laughter to the front of the manor. He stopped at the top of the stairs, hand halfway through pushing his hair away, eyes wide.

Dick was hanging upside down a couple of feet away from him, legs wrapped tightly around the railing of the stairs. He was talking to Tim, giving him tips on how to maintain his balance.

And Tim was on the ground floor, standing on his hands, reading a book that is held with his feet. Jason could not fathom how he did not fall over. Tim seemed to be laughing too hard to try what Dick was suggesting, his arms shaking with the effort. A moment later, he collapsed in a heap, book dropping and smacking him in the face.

Dick laughed as well, his legs loosening, and he did a flip before landing gently by Tim, pulling the book off his face and offering a hand.

As he pulled Tim up, Dick looked up, noticing that Jason was in the room.

"Morning, Jay!" Dick said with a smile. "I was just teaching Tim some new tricks."

"I... I see," Jason said slowly, still not sure what he had been seeing.

"He's really good," Tim added. "Extremely flexible."

"Thanks, Tim!" Dick said, beaming. Alfred walked past then, carrying two large boxes stacked on top of each other. "Oh, let me help you with that!" Dick said, hurrying over and taking a box before Alfred could protest. Dick followed Alfred out of the foyer, talking loudly and cheerily.

Tim walked over to Jason, rolling his shoulders and neck. "Dick is amazing," he said, genuinely impressed. "He could really teach us some stuff, you know," Tim said, shrugging a bit. "Could come in handy." He walked past Jason, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't know where you found him, but keep him a while longer."

Jason's eyebrows furrowed a moment. Then, he turned back towards Tim. "We're not-"

But Tim had disappeared already.

* * *

"So what's this... zoo?" Dick asked, bouncing excitedly in his seat.

"It's technically called the Gotham City Wildlife Preserve, but seeing that there isn't much wildlife in Gotham besides pigeons, rats, and Killer Croc, most people just call it a zoo," Tim explained. "It's a place where there are a whole bunch of animals kept in cages and stuff for people to look at them."

"Oh." Dick made a happy confused face. "You don't seem very happy about visiting this... zoo," he told Tim.

Tim shrugged. "You've never seen a monkey before, so it's a small sacrifice, I think. I don't really agree with putting animals in cages for people's entertainment, but as long as they're not harming the animals."

Dick then nodded at Tim's backpack. "And why did you bring such a large backpack? Are you planning on feeding all the animals?"

"Uh," Tim laughed. "No. That's a whole bunch of electronic stuff. My laptop and stuff."

"Oh," Dick smiled. "Will you be teaching the monkeys to type?"

Tim choked as he laughed. "No, Dick, I'm probably going to be sitting at some café most of the day while Jason shows you around."

Dick nodded. "Because you don't like seeing animals in cages. I understand."

"Right," Tim said.

This whole time, Jason had been staring out of the window, his head leaning on his arm.

Dick turned to him. "What about you, Jason? What's your favorite animal?"

"A shark," came the blunt reply.

"Why's that?" Dick asked.

"They eat people."

Tim snorted. "Sharks don't eat people. That's only in Jaws. And sharks are stupid."

Jason just shrugged. Then, he turned his gaze away from the window. He gave Dick a calculating look. "What about you, Dickie? Never seen animals together, but you seem to know quite a lot about them. What's your favorite?"

"Oh, I like all animals. I don't have a favorite, but I really do like babies."

"Babies... like baby animals?"

"Yes, and baby humans especially," Dick said, actually sounding rather excited. "Will there be babies at this zoo?"

Both Jason and Tim laughed. Tim nudged Jason's seat with his foot. "You should've taken him to the hospital instead. Lots of babies there."

Dick's smile deflated a little. "Oh, are there no babies at the zoo?"

Jason was still laughing when he answered. "No, no, there are babies. They aren't in cages or behind glass though. And they'll probably be screaming and crying."

"Oh, okay, good," Dick said.

They went to go see the monkeys first. Dick was leaning over the railing as far as the security guards would allow, his eyes wide with childish wonder. He pointed to the monkeys, swinging from tree to tree, chittering and screeching at each other. He jumped excitedly and grabbed Jason each time a monkey got close to them.

"Jay, oh, Jay look! It's a baby monkey," Dick cooed. "It's so small! Look, it's hiding behind its mother!" He waved at the baby monkey. "Hey, baby monkey!" The baby monkey stared at him for a moment before raising its hand and mimicking Dick's movement. "Jason, did you see that! He waved at me!" Dick turned to Jason, only to find that Jason was not watching the monkeys, but watching Dick instead, a small smile on his face.

Dick stopped jumping around for a moment. "What?" he asked. "Is there something on my face?"

Jason's smile grew a little, showing hints of his white teeth. He shook his head and looked away. "No, you're fine, Dickie."

When they finally left the monkey house, heading outside, and after the elephants and giraffes, Dick looked around. "Where did Tim go?"

"Oh, he went to the café," Jason said casually. "Look, Dick, tigers." He peered over the shoulder of a couple younger kids to read the sign with information on tigers. "They're the largest cat species, apex predators, usually preying on deer and such. They're solitary but social animals, sometimes forming unofficial groups with one male and an array of female and young. They have their own territories as well, the males' territories larger than the females. They generally don't fight among themselves, using intimidation to establish domination instead of fighting, unless it's over the female. Mostly nocturnal animals, and their population is steadily on the rise."

Dick pretty much tuned out on the information Jason was feeding him and turning towards where Jason was pointing instead. Dick gasped. "Wow," he breathed. "They're so... so pretty," he said, awed. "Look how powerful it is." He never took his eyes off of the tiger, walking around in its enclosure. Another tiger was lying nearby, its tail flicking lazily, its eyes sharp and watchful. "They seem docile, but... it looks more like they're just waiting for the right moment to attack. With grace and power." Dick turned towards Jason, his face serious. "Jason, I want one."

Jason's eyebrows shot up. "You- You want a tiger?"

Dick turned back to the large animals. "Well, not necessarily a tiger, but... something with power and grace. Something like..." Dick's eyes lit up. "Like him."

"Like who?" Jason asked, staring to pull Dick away from the tigers. But Dick's hands stayed locked around the railing, his eyes trained on the orange predators.

"I met him on the first night I was here," Dick said. "I don't- I don't know who he was. But Barbara called him... Hood. Barbara knows him, Jay!" He grabbed Jason's wrist. "And you know Barbara! Jay, I-"

A slightly irritated expression crossed Jason's face. "I really hope you're not talking about Red Hood."

Dick smiled. "Yes! Him!"

Jason sighed heavily. "Dick... Red Hood is technically a criminal. He kills people. Vigilantism is illegal in Gotham, and he's a vigilante."

"But he's-"

"Dangerous," Jason snapped. "Stay away from him."

Dick's smile died, replaced by hurt. "He saved me, though."

"He-" Jason gave Dick a hard look. "He saved you?"

Dick nodded. "I was alone in a big city, in a strange world. If it hadn't been for him, I would have never met Barbara. And then, I would have met... you," he said softly. "I was- I was upset at him at first because he interrupted me while I was watching the stars, but little did I know, he gave me something much better than the stars." Dick gave Jason a blinding smile, one that wiped the narrowed eyes and pressed lips off of Jason's face. "I just want to thank him," Dick finished.

Jason stared at Dick for a moment longer. Whatever was going through his head, Dick knew not. Jason finally tore his eyes away. He glanced at the tigers. Then, he took Dick's elbow. "Let's go find Tim," he said. "We'll have a late lunch."

Dick followed him without protest. They found Tim sitting outside the Jungle Café, typing on his laptop, backpack leaning against the chair next to him.

"Hey, Timbo," Jason said, sitting down across from him. "Eat yet?"

"Nah," Tim said, looking up and closing his laptop. "Waited for you guys." He looked at Dick. "You okay?"

Dick gave him a half-absent smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Why don't you go take a look at the menu," Jason asked. "See if there's anything you want. I'm going to have a word with Timmy here."

Dick stood and approached the counter, squinting at the menu posted in the back. A girl with a green polo shirt and a ridiculous monkey hat noticed him.

"Hi, are you ready to order?" she asked.

Dick bit his lip, looking down at her for a moment. A nametag was pinned to her shirt. Linda. He gave her a smile. "Not yet... my friends still have to order, but I'm just looking."

"Oh, okay," she said. "Would you like to consider our specials today?" She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

Dick had no idea what she was talking about, but he gave her a smile. "Yes," he said, hoping it was the right answer.

Linda grinned back. She reached under the counter and brought up a laminated sheet. She set it on the counter between them, and pointed to the spot marked DAILY SPECIALS.

"So today, we have banana fries with our special Jungle dipping sauce," she said, leaning forward on her arms as she did so. Then, she pointed to the next one on the menu. "Then, we also have the Cheetah Cheeseburger, rawr," she said, making a little claw at Dick and laughing. Dick laughed as well, not really sure what was so funny though. "And for dessert or a snack, the Ultimate Zebra Cupcake. And it is pretty big," she said. "Meant for two to share."

Then, Linda leaned in further. "You wanna hear my personal recommendations?"

Dick opened his mouth to answer when an arm slipped around his waist, tugging him a little closer to the person. Dick looked up in surprise.

"You know what you're getting yet, babe?" Jason asked, ignoring Dick's surprised face.

"Um," Dick started. He saw Linda looking between them, her face a mask of horror.

Jason turned towards Linda, flashing a smile that reminded Dick of the tigers. He felt slightly weak at the knees. "You said the cupcake is for two to share, right?" She nodded once, minutely. Jason turned to Dick, the same sharp smile on his face. Dick felt like he was actually using Jason's arm for support now. "Want to share one, Dickie?"

"Okay," he breathed out, his heartbeat suddenly spiking.

"And a Critter Chili Dog, a Savannah Summer Salad, and you, Dickie?" Jason gently checked Dick's hip with his.

Dick made a slight squeaking sound before giving Linda a small smile. "I'll have the, uh, Amazing Amazon Sandwich."

Linda quickly tapped in their order. "Twenty-five thirty-six, please," she said. Jason pulled out his wallet and handed Linda thirty dollars. He took the change and stuffed it into the tip jar, flashed Linda another smile before walking back to the table with Dick, arm still curled protectively around his waist.

Tim was watching them, arms crossed, eyebrows lifted and expression mildly amused. "So, make a new friend, Dick?"

Dick sat down in his seat, and gave Jason a glance. Jason was watching him, leaning back in his seat, sunglasses covering his eyes.

How had he not noticed it before? All the clues were there. Jason was a tiger too.

He was a tiger, the alpha male in his territory, possessive and not afraid to flaunt his power. Intimidation, is that not what tigers used? Fuck, so before... that was jealousy. With both Linda and when Dick had been talking about the Red Hood.

Dick felt like he heard Jason and Tim talking, but he could not process their words. Jason was a tiger. Red Hood was a tiger. And that made Dick the female, who had to choose, or intimidation would soon escalate into something worse.

And Dick did not know what he wanted.

* * *

Dick had to excuse himself to the restroom before their food came. He splashed water on his face, leaning against the mirror, taking a few deep breaths. He really needed the pounding in his chest to stop. But it would not.

Dick had no idea what to do. Jason wanted him, at least it seemed. He had kissed Dick last night, and he seemed kind of upset about Linda, judging by his reaction. He must have thought Linda was flirting with him, like he had with the waitress in the café, only yesterday. Yesterday? Fuck, it felt like a lifetime ago.

So Jason wanted him. Did Dick want Jason back? Kind of. Jason was good looking, funny, and he was Dick's friend. But up until ten minutes ago, Dick did not really think of Jason as anything besides that, even despite the kiss. And then ten minutes ago, Jason showed his tiger face, and fuck, now Dick wanted him, yes he did.

Yet on the other hand, Dick also kind of wanted the Red Hood. Sure, Dick had no idea who the man was, and they got off to a bad start, but he was like Dick. Freefall without a net, though he had that grappling thing. It was a different kind of exhilaration, one that Dick craved with his very being.

Dick made a small whimpering noise.

He took another moment before stepping out of the bathroom into the sunlight again. He sat down at the table, between Jason and Tim. They were still talking about something in slightly hushed voices. Tim was eating his salad, and Jason swiped fallen chili off the back of his hand and stuck it into his mouth.

Jason saw him and gave him that vicious smile around his finger. Dick sat down quickly, swallowing. Jason handed him his sandwich, his fingers grazing Dick's. Then, under the table, Jason hooked his ankle around Dick's lazily, their legs pressed together now.

Dick quickly took a bite of his sandwich. He felt weak and lightheaded.

"Hey, you okay, Dick?" Tim asked, gently touching Dick's arm. Tim did not have the same effect on him.

"Yeah," he managed.

Tim's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you sure? You're looking a bit red. Did you drink enough water?"

"Oh, Tim's right, Dickie," Jason said. "You are looking a bit flushed. Here." He reached for his soda, taking a sip himself first, then handing to Dick.

Dick watched, a drop of the liquid hanging on Jason's lip as his tongue flicked out and wiped it away. He smiled, all teeth again. "Don't want to be dehydrated, now, do we?"

Dick took the soda, his hand shaking, eyes trained on Jason's mouth. But he did not drink. He just held it, staring at Jason.

Tim frowned harder. A moment later, the table jerked, soda sloshing onto Dick's hand, and Jason's leg disappeared. Tim handed Dick some napkins.

"Sorry," Tim said apologetically. "Scooted my chair in too hard." Jason gave him a hard glare, which Tim returned.

Dick blinked a couple times, feeling like he could breathe a bit more freely. "Um, it's okay," Dick said.

Lunch was finished in silence.

* * *

"We think you have a very special set of skills that could help us," Tim said. "Your gymnastics background is unrivaled, Dick."

Dick nodded. He still did not know what was happening here. He had just stepped out of the shower only to find Jason and Tim standing in his room. They both wore determined expressions. At least they had the courtesy of letting Dick get dressed before telling him they wanted to talk.

Nor did he know why talking had to be done while walking.

"We had a long talk with Barbara," Jason said. "And she agreed that we could trust you." He spun around. "Can we trust you?"

Dick nodded, eyes wide. "Of course."

Jason turned back around, leading them further through the dark manor. He was silent for a beat. "Remember that conversation we had about Red Hood being a vigilante and how it was illegal?"

"Yes...?"

Jason stood in front of a grandfather clock. He did something Dick could not see, then, the grandfather clock slid aside. Dick's eyes widened.

He looked over his shoulder and gave Dick the tiger smile. "Well, Dickie, you're now a wanted member of the law," he said, walking into the tunnel and down a set of stairs. A moment later, the tunnel opened up into a large cave. "Welcome to the Batcave."

"The- The what?" Dick managed, looking around. There was a lot to take in. It was a cave, first of all.

"Batcave," Tim said. "It's where Batman works." Then, he grimaced. "Was where Batman worked."

"And Batman was...?" Dick asked, still not quite understanding.

"A vigilante. Protector of Gotham, the Dark Knight, World's Greatest Detective, best friend to Superman, he's got a lot of titles," Jason explained. "And our adoptive father."

Dick started to say something else, but his eyes landed on something on the table underneath them. A red helmet. He sucked in a sharp breath.

"Ah," Jason said. "That."

Dick's eyes never left it. "That's... yours?" he whispered.

"Guess so," Jason said.

Dick's eyes flickered up to Jason uncertainly. Then, he looked back at the red helmet. Then to Jason. Then, he launched himself at Jason, grabbing his face and mashing their lips together. Dick had no idea what he was doing, but he wanted to do it so badly.

Tim groaned and walked away, but Jason put his arms on Dick's waist.

The kiss was teeth and tongue, sharp, playful, and so full of want. The kiss was bruises and nips, hot, hard, and fast. It satisfied the roaring wave of need that had been building up inside of Dick all day.

When they finally pulled away to breathe, it was only by a couple inches. Dick's hands stayed on either side of Jason's face, their eyes boring into each other, and neither could look away. They were like magnets, drawn to each other without a choice. Dick's hand slowly moved from Jason's cheeks, to his strong jaw, down his neck, to those strong shoulders, back to the base of neck, tangling in bits of dark hair.

Dick smiled, a small bubble of laughter spilling out of him. Jason smiled too. "Whatcha smiling about, Dickie?" he asked quietly.

Dick tightened his arms around Jason. "You're my tiger, Jay."

Jason snorted. "Okay," he said with a laugh. "Whatever that means."


	5. The Miracle of a Century

"Again," Tim snapped.

Dick groaned, lying on his back, the dull pain fading. "Seriously? We've been at it for two hours now."

"Again," Jason agreed, but gentler. He was sitting on the other side of the cave, feet propped up on a table and shining his helmet. "You're good, Dick, but you need to be better."

Tim held out a hand and pulled Dick to his feet. "It's really not so bad, Dick," Tim said. "You are exceptionally good. If Bats were still alive, he'd be tripping over himself to have you as a Robin."

Dick wiped sweat from his forehead. "No idea what that means, but I guess it's a good thing?"

Jason snorted. "It's fucking amazing," he said. "Do you know how hard Bruce was to please? Nothing I did was good enough for him."

"That's not true," Tim said.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Well, if it was, he certainly did not show it. But Tim's right. The old man would've loved you."

Dick was a bit unsure of what to say. It sounded like a compliment, but the bitter note in Jason's voice made Dick hesitant. Instead, he turned back to Tim and nodded. "Okay. Again."

This time, he executed the moves perfectly, managing to throw in a few of his own flips and disarm Tim as well, sending his bo staff clattering across the ground. He pinned Tim after a few more moves.

"Yield! I yield!" Tim said, his voice a bit choked.

"Sorry!" Dick said. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to-"

Instead, Tim smiled at him. "That was great!" he said, sounding genuinely excited. "I know I'm not that great of a teacher and all, but that move took me three months to get right. But we'll take a break now."

Dick sagged in relief. "Finally," he said. "I feel like my arms are going to fall off if I throw any more punches."

Jason tossed him a bottle of cold water, which Dick drank greedily. He pulled a chair over to where Jason was sitting, the legs dragging across the stone floor the entire time. He straddled it backwards, leaning on the back of the chair, his head on his arms.

"Hey, Jay," Dick said, smiling.

"Hey, Dickie," Jason said.

Dick did not say anything else, just staring at Jason and smiling.

"What?" Jason asked.

Dick shrugged. "Nothing. I'm just happy."

"Oh? And why's that?" Jason asked with a grin.

"No clue," Dick said. "I just am." He continued to stare at Jason for a few seconds more. Then, he shifted in his seat and sat up straighter, lifting his head. "Actually, I think it's you. I always seem to get this fluttery, fluffy feeling inside when I look at you."

Jason shook his head and laughed. "Jeez, Dickie. You sure know how to flatter me."

Dick made a happy, but confused face. "I wasn't trying to flatter you. I was just saying what I was feeling."

Jason gave Dick another look, one that Dick received quite often, from everyone. The amused but confused look. "Whatever you say, Dick." Then, he stood and stretched. "Wanna go a few rounds against me? I'll go easy on you, promise." He flashed Dick a wolfish smile.

Dick smiled back on instinct. He stood as well, setting the nearly empty bottle of water on the table. "Okay, but no smiling!" he said. "It's unfair to me!"

Jason just laughed. "No promises, Dickiebird!"

* * *

"You sure it's not going to rain?" Tim asked, peering up at the skies. "It looks like it's going to rain. If it rains, I'm never going to forgive you, Jason."

Jason rolled his eyes. "It's not raining. It's supposed to clear up in a couple hours."

Tim made a dubious sound.

"You've never seen the ocean, have you, Dick?" Barbara asked. "Gotham's probably not the best place for that, but I guess if you've never seen the ocean before, it can be pretty amazing."

Dick just smiled and nodded politely. "I'm excited wherever we go," he said. "I had an amazing time at the zoo a couple days ago."

"Oh yeah," Tim piped up. "We only went because we suspected there was something suspicious going on and had to check it out. We were right."

"Tim!" Jason said. "He didn't have to know that!"

Dick did not mind. "Oh! That's cool," he said. "Is that why you left Jason and me at the monkey house?"

Barbara chortled. "You left them alone? Is that now this," she gestured to where Dick was sitting right next to Jason, his head leaning on his shoulder. "happened? Tim, how irresponsible of you! You were supposed to be the mature adult chaperone in that situation!"

Tim grumbled something under his breath. Barbara leaned forward, shoving her face between Jason's and Dick's. Her arms rested on the backs of their seats. "So, what's the label on this relationship at the moment?"

Jason gave her an annoyed look. She tried leaning forward more, but her seatbelt was already stretched to its limit.

"Ooh, and whose taking whose last name when the marriage comes along?" she asked in a conspiratory whisper. "Is it going to be Richard Todd? Or Jason Grayson? Hey that rhymes!" She started laughing, and Tim snickering from beside her as well. Jason glared harder at them.

"Come on, Jaybird," Barbara said, shoving his shoulder. "Take a joke."

"I don't like jokes," Jason grumbled. "PTSD, remember?"

"Oh, that was years ago," she said. "It was just a bad scratch! Thirteen stitches, if I remember correctly."

Dick gasped. "You got thirteen stitches once? What happened?"

Jason sighed heavily as Barbara laughed gleefully. "Oh, Jason, back in the day, he was a bold child, yes, he was. Now, I wasn't there yet, but Bruce told me. Anyway, he thought he was all brave and wanted to prove himself and make Daddy Bats proud, so one day, he disobeyed orders, went after the Joker himself, and ended up alone in this warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

"So then, there was this big epic fight involving a crowbar, which didn't actually hit Jason," Barbara said. "Joker threw it at Jason, but Jay ducked at the last minute and it hit this window, spraying glass everywhere. Jason dived through the window, got a huge cut down his leg. Nearly died, had Bats not saved him. They barely made it to the car before the entire warehouse exploded." She started laughing again.

"Not funny, Babs," Jason said. "I fucking hate crowbars and clowns now."

"Aw," Barbara cooed. "He's afraid of clowns."

Jason glowered at her. Dick gave Barbara an uneasy smile, but he did not laugh. Alfred had been watching from the front of the car, eyeing them to make sure nothing got out of control.

"If it makes you feel better," Dick said quietly in Jason's ear. "I'm not particularly fond of clowns either. There is this planet a few thousand billion light years from Earth where all the beings there look like clowns. I had nightmares for weeks," Dick said with a small shiver.

Their arrival at the beach was well timed. As Jason predicted, the sun started peeking out from behind the thick blankets of clouds just as they all crowded out of the car. Sunscreen was applied all over, sunglasses fought over, and a bunch of buckets of all shapes and sizes procured. Barbara pulled her sundress over her head. She wore a red one piece underneath, which seemed conservative from the front, but the thing was entirely backless.

She held her hair out of the way and asked Dick to help her apply sunscreen to her back. Dick did so happily, glancing at Jason only to be given a slightly strained smile.

Ah, he was jealous again. Dick could tell a little easier now when Jason was displeased with the fact that Dick was possibly flirting with someone else.

He finished quickly and went over to Jason. Dick smiled and hugged him around the waist, his bare chest pressing against the fabric of Jason's t-shirt. "It's Barbara," he murmured.

"I know, I know," Jason said. "Sorry. I can't really help it," he whispered back.

Dick smiled, pulling back a little to look at Jason's face. He kept smiling at him until Jason smiled back, just a little. "Stop being such a little ball of anger," Dick said. "It's cute, but it's no fun."

Jason broke out of his embrace and pulled his shirt over his head, balling it into a ball and throwing it into the bag. "Fuck you, Dickie," he said, without much head. "I'm not a little ball of anger. I'm an uncontrollable force of rage."

"Yes," Dick agreed. "The raging tiger."

"I don't know why you keep comparing me to a tiger," Jason said. He picked up the bag and slammed the trunk of the car closed. They followed a few paces behind Tim and Barbara, Alfred bringing up the rear. "Not sure if I should be offended. But you seem pretty smug about it, so I guess not."

Dick grinned at him and said nothing.

They found a spot on the beach, which was actually pretty crowded. The large umbrella was set up, as well as Alfred's chair. The man was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, which was completely unheard of. He had on sunglasses as well, reading his book.

The others ran towards the water, splashing into the small waves, screaming and laughing at the cold water. Barbara and Jason swam out until their feet could barely graze the floor anymore, but Tim was a content staying where the water was somewhere between his chest and his neck. Dick hesitated a moment before joining Jason and Barbara.

A wave crashed over them, Jason and Barbara ducking under the water in time, but Dick getting smacked in the face by it. He surfaced, sputtering and coughing.

"Fuck!" he cursed. "It's so fucking salty!"

"It's the ocean, Dickie," Jason laughed, water dripping from his hair.

"I know that," Dick said. "But I didn't think it was actually really salty. I just thought... it was like, savory."

"Savory?" Barbara laughed. "Did you just use a food term to describe the saltiness of the ocean?"

Dick shrugged.

They swam around for a little while longer and headed back into shallower waters. Barbara went to get a tan and take a nap while Tim set out to build a sand castle, searching for the perfect mixture of wet and dry sand.

Dick and Jason walked up the beach a bit.

A couple times, girls walking in the other direction would smile and wink at Dick, a few at Jason. Jason ignored the ones directed at him, throwing dirty looks to the girls that notice Dick instead.

One group of girls invited them to play volleyball with them. Dick was about to accept, out of courtesy and curiosity, but Jason denied for them.

"Why can't we play?" Dick asked as they walked away.

"Because they're flirting," Jason answered. "With you, with me, and we'll never actually end up playing."

Dick frowned slightly. "You don't know that. They seemed sincere."

"You trust people way too easily, Dick," Jason commented. "And besides, I don't play well when I'm distracted."

Dick frowned harder. "I thought you weren't bothered by them flirting with you. You completely ignored the girls before."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Distracted by you, Dickhead," he said. "It was bad enough when you were training with Tim, all sweat soaked and in a thin t-shirt. But shirtless? Don't think my heart could take it." He gave Dick that smile.

Dick felt himself physically getting weak and gushy inside. He melted into a smile. "Okay."

Jason snorted. "You're looking lovesick now, Dick."

"Think I am."

Jason just laughed, shaking his head. Then, he took Dick's hand, giving Dick a gentler smile this time. "C'mon. We're late for lunch."

* * *

They all crowded underneath the umbrella, arms brushing, shoulders bumping, legs all tangled together, each munching on their own sandwiches.

"Why don't we do this more often?" Barbara asked after a long silence where they just stared out over the ocean. "Get out and do this- this family get together thing. With everyone else too. You haven't talked to them in a while, Jay," she said softly. "They all ask about you, ya know."

"I'm not ready yet, you know that," Jason said softly. Dick was listening, but he did not interject. He felt that it was a sensitive topic of sorts.

"I think you are," Barbara said, equally softly. "You've been ready for a while now, but you're scared to let them in again."

"I'm not scared," Jason scoffed. "I just don't want someone getting hurt."

"Someone? Or yourself?"

"Neither," Jason said.

"No one's going to get hurt, Jay," Barbara said. "They're your friends. They'll understand."

"Someone always gets hurt, Babs," Jason finally said. "Always." Dick reached over and brushed Jason's hair out of his eyes. It was nearly dry now, a bit hard from the salt and the sun.

Barbara was silent for a beat as she watched their interaction. "Someday, you'll be proved wrong, Jason. You'll see."

Jason shook his head sadly. Then, he crumpled up his sandwich crusts, pulling his legs out from under Dick's. "I'm going to take a nap," he announced. He threw the crusts into the makeshift trash bag, grabbed his large beach towel and laid it out a few feet away, in the sun. Dick watched him a moment before coming over.

Jason lay down on his stomach, sunglasses on and he still squinted up at Dick.

Dick just smiled and knelt down next to him, raising the bottle of sunscreen. "I'm just lending a hand," he said, squirting a lot of the lotion onto his hands before placing them on Jason's back.

Jason hid his smile in his arms, lying down fully and relaxing as Dick started working the sunscreen into his skin, rolling the heels of his hands into the tense muscles of Jason's back.

Jason made a few muffled groans as Dick massaged the sunscreen into his back. At first, Dick thought he was hurting him and eased off, but Jason quickly looked up again, so Dick reapplied some pressure. Jason buried his face in his arms again. Within ten minutes, he went still, soft snores replacing the groans, making Dick smile a little before he stood up and left Jason to his nap.

Jason wakes up an hour later.

He had rolled over onto his back, and his sunglasses had been placed on his face, crooked. He yawned. There was a weird pressure on his chest. Jason pushed himself up onto his elbows only to found the he was buried under the sand from chest to toe.

On top of that, there was a giant sand castle built over his crotch and legs.

"What's this?" he asked.

Dick grinned, his wet hands pressed against the wall of the tallest tower. "It's our castle, complete with a moat of sharks, a princess in a tower, and knights in shining armor."

Jason adjusted his sunglasses and stared at Dick. He was still shirtless and his hair was dry now, but he had a thick necklace of seaweed draped over his neck and chest.

Suddenly, a splash of water made Jason glare at Tim. Tim, also wearing a lei of seaweed, grinned sheepishly before going back to fill his bucket with more water. Barbara returned with a bucket of small shells and colored rocks. She had a crown of broken seashells.

"What...?" Jason groaned. He started to sit up more, but Dick pushed him back.

"You'll ruin our castle!" he said. "Just a few more minutes. We're nearly done."

Jason sighed and lay back down, subjecting himself to the torture. But as promised, they finished quickly. And just in time at that, the sun was starting to set. Alfred came over with a camera, ordering them to gather around the castle.

Jason propped his head up on one arm, Dick sitting behind him with his seaweed lei. Barbara sat by his feet and Tim sat by Barbara. They all smiled and Alfred snapped the photo.

Tim and Barbara went off to help Alfred clean up everything, folding blankets and closing the umbrella. Dick helped unbury Jason, pushing the castle off of him and pulling him to his feet. Dick grabbed Jason's towel, shaking the sand off of it vigorously.

"Go wash that sand off," Dick said. "I'll wait for you."

Jason took a quick dip in the ocean, the water just as cold and jarring as before. He ran shivering back up to the where Dick stood, Barbara's beach bag on the crook of one arm, Jason's towel in the other.

As Jason approached, Dick handed him the towel. "They've already gone back to the car," he said.

Jason took the towel, teeth chattering. "Thanks," he said, pulling the towel around him, wrapping himself up.

Dick stared at him a moment, an odd smile on his face. Then, he spoke. "Babs told me to tell you, 'Maybe this is the miracle you've been waiting for, Jay'. No idea what she meant by that, but it might mean something to you?" Dick shrugged. He paused another moment before surging forward and pressing a kiss to Jason's lips.

Before Jason even processed it, Dick pulled back. He gave Jason one last smile before bolting after Tim, Barbara, and Alfred, leaving Jason alone to stare after him.


	6. The Nightwing

"This is going to be amazing," Dick said, physically unable to stay still. "I'm so fucking excited." He flipped off of the walkway of the cave, landing by Jason. He pulled out one of the two escrima sticks Tim dug up from a pile of weapons. He twirled it, tossing it in the air like a baton. It nearly hit Jason's head.

"Watch it," Jason grumbled.

Dick grinned at him. "Sorry. I'm excited."

"I know," Jason said. "You said so yesterday."

Dick did a twirl, shoving the escrima back into its sheath. "Why aren't you more excited?" he asked. "It's going to be my first patrol."

"I know," Jason said. "And you need to be careful. Maybe we should wait another week. It has only been a week, Dick. Bats made us train six months before we were allowed out of the cave at all."

Dick gave him a glare. "You said I'm ready. Tim said I'm ready. Even Babs agreed I could handle it."

"But are you ready?" Jason asked. "Not just physically. Mentally as well."

"Yes, I'm ready, Jason," Dick said. He walked up and placed a hand over the red bat symbol on Jason's chest. He leaned up and kissed Jason's small frown. "Stop worrying about me," he said gently.

Jason sighed. "I can't," he said. "I keep getting this- this bad feeling. Dick, I don't want you hurt."

"This is your job every night. I wait up for you to get back from your patrol each night, wondering if you got hurt too," Dick pointed out.

"But I've been doing this for years, Dick. I've had training from the best. Dick, maybe you really should stay back tonight."

Dick shook his head. "No. You had to start sometime. I want to do this, Jay. I want to be like you."

Jason smiled, a little sadly. "But you could be so much better, Dickie."

Dick just pressed his head to Jason's armored shoulder, his hand feeling for his heartbeat underneath the bat symbol. It was too thick, but he wished he could.

"Also," Jason said, changing the subject. "What are you wearing? Tim mentioned he found something for you, but I didn't get a chance to look at it yet."

"Oh!" Dick spun away, reaching over and pulled over a small bundle of black clothes. He let it drop and Jason's eyebrows shot up.

"That?" he asked. "You can't be serious. It's a leotard, Dick," he said.

"Yeah. And I look damn fine in it."

Jason looked incredulous. "It doesn't matter what you look like! You'll have no protection at all in that!"

"It's easier to do flips."

"You could get killed, Dickie, and you're worried about flexibility to do flips?" Jason asked. "Are you fucking joking right now?"

Dick frowned. "I don't see why this is a problem."

"What is Tim thinking? A graze from a knife and you're going to get hurt, Dick. This thing offers no protection whatsoever. A stray bullet and you're a dead man."

Dick sighed, feeling exasperated, as if he were trying to explain the same thing over and over again to a small child. "I can dodge pretty well, Jay."

"One lucky bullet and dodge won't have anything to do with it," Jason said fiercely. "I'm not having you wear that!"

Dick glared at him and Jason glared right back. Finally, Dick sighed. "Okay. How about, I borrow something... more protective for tonight, and if I can get through the night without a scratch, I can wear that the next night?"

"And what makes you think you'll be allowed on another patrol after this?" Jason asked.

"Because I'm good?"

Jason did not have the means to argue with that. He just snapped his mouth shut and pressed his lips into a thin line. "Fine," he said tightly. "I might have something you can borrow for tonight."

* * *

It was exhilarating. All of it, everything. The entire night, Dick could not keep the smile off his face.

He would jump off of buildings, letting himself freefall until the last second before shooting his line. Jason had explained to him how no matter how good at gymnastics he was, he would still break his legs or die if he fell from that height. It made Dick wonder if there was a differing sense of gravity or something at the Palace and its counterparts.

His eyes easily caught suspicious movement in the dark alleys of Gotham, spotting them quickly enough. Jason had been reluctant on letting Dick actively participate, saying he should just watch first. After a couple times, and after Dick pulled Tim out of the way of a throwing knife, Jason let him help out a little more.

Dick was great at everything, though his hand-to-hand combat skill were a bit less honed. He did less offensive fighting and stuck mostly to defensive, leaving the guns and the blood to Jason. Tim, like Dick, stuck mostly to defensive fighting.

All in all, it was a very successful night. Jason looked infinitely relieved that none of Gotham's supervillains had decided to attack tonight. Dick was a tad disappointed. After Jason gave him the basics on each of the major villains, he had itched to test out their skills himself. Jason hoped and prayed they were all having an off day.

When they got back to the cave, Tim and Jason beyond tired, and Dick was still bouncing off the walls.

"Did you see that guy?" he asked Jason, miming the fight for the third time. "The way his eyes widened, and he reached for the gun, but then I kicked his hand away and flipped him onto his back!"

"Yes, Dickie, we saw," Jason drawled tiredly. "Then, he stabbed you. We saw that too. Now get over here so I can clean up that wound for you."

Dick slid over, flopping down into the chair. "It's barely a scratch, Jay," he said. It really was not bad at all, just stinging a bit. The wound barely bled either, just swelling up a bit and puffy around the edges.

"It could still get infected," Jason said. "I told you to be careful."

"I was careful," Dick said. "You said it yourself, it comes with the job. I've had worse than this before. Snapped my leg when I was six."

Silence rang out in the cave. Dick looked up at Jason, to find him staring at him.

"When you were six? I thought you couldn't remember anything after ten," Jason said slowly, no longer working to open the first aid kit.

Dick shrugged. "I get these flashes sometimes. It's really brief and I get not context, so it usually confuses me more than anything. So I have no idea how I broke my leg, just that I snapped it clean in half."

Jason continued staring at him with narrowed eyes. "And do you have these flashes often?"

Dick hummed. "Not usually. More now that I came to Earth."

Jason sighed. "And you never mentioned anything when we asked if you remembered anything from your past?"

Dick rolled his eyes. "That was before I had any flashes on Earth. You never asked again."

Jason groaned, snapping the kit open. "It was implied you speak up if you remembered."

"Sorry, didn't know that."

Jason gave him a half glare as he poured the alcohol on Dick's leg. Dick flinched a little at the sting.

"When did you have the first flash?" Jason asked as he wiped down the excess.

"Think it was when you showed me around the Manor that second day. I saw that painting in the study."

"Of Bruce."

"Yeah. Thought I recognized him for a moment."

Jason sighed loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Dickie."

"What?" Dick asked, a bit affronted. "You keep trying to figure me out, like I'm some unsolvable riddle. Jay, I don't care about my past. I don't care what my life was like before. It doesn't matter to me, so you don't have to keep trying to figure it out for me, okay?"

Jason gave him a tired smile. "I know," he said softly. "I just- I feel better sometimes when I have answers."

Dick smiled. "I've learned to live with it. You can too."

Jason finished cleaning and wrapped it in gauze, despite Dick's assurances that he was fine. He cleaned up his own cuts then headed up towards his room to take a shower, Dick doing the same.

Dick stood under the spray of water for a long time, just letting the steam fill the room and the water run over his now aching muscles. He smiled a little. A little over a week ago, Dick had been worried about that weird feeling the Manor gave him.

Dick was used to the feeling now. He accepted it. The feeling of home. Dick would gladly call the Manor and its people home now. He would gladly call Gotham his home. He felt like he finally clicked into place, in this giant puzzle of the world, he found his place so quickly.

Dick stepped out of the shower just before he started getting wrinkly. He took his time, toweling himself off, shaving, and toweling his hair dry. He rewrapped his leg, knowing Jason would be upset if he did not. Dick smiled a little at that. He stepped out of the bathroom into his room, eyebrows lifting minutely when he saw Jason sitting at the edge of his bed.

Dick smiled, not bothering to ask why he was there. It did not matter why Jason was there. It just mattered that Jason was. "Hey," he said, walking towards Jason.

Jason tossed the sweatpants that lay folded on the bed at him. "Hey, yourself."

"Thanks again, for... for everything," Dick said. "Everything." Jason may not understand what "everything" instituted, but that was okay.

"Sure, you're welcome," Jason said. He smiled at Dick, eyes obviously running from his face down his chest and further to the towel. Jason himself was wearing a loose tank top, way too big for him. He did not wear pants.

Dick winked at him, dropping the towel and pulling the sweatpants on slowly. Then, he jumped onto the bed as well, flopping to a seat in the middle. For a moment, they just stared and smiled at each other. Dick noticed that they did that a lot. But he liked it.

"Stay with me tonight?" Dick asked.

Jason's smile grew. He swung his legs onto the bed, pulling at the covers. Dick scooted off of it and under them, holding his arms out. Jason slid in beside him, burrowing into Dick's arms and buried his face in Dick's neck.

"Gladly," he murmured.

Dick smiled into Jason's hair and as he fell asleep, his last thought was a curious one, one he never considered before.

Maybe, just maybe, Dick himself was a tiger as well, in a different sense from Jason, but a tiger all the same.


	7. On Love and Death

Hair tickled his nose, and Dick turned away, not quite ready to open his eyes yet. But the man in his arms shifted, groaning softly with the same idea.

"Dickie, what time is it?" Jason muttered into his collarbone.

"Dunno. Early."

Jason yawned, lifting his head, bumping into Dick's jaw. He cracked an eye open, looking at the clock.

"It's nearly noon," he groaned.

Dick pulled him to his chest. "Then let's sleep until noon."

"Alfred will kill us."

"We're Gotham's protectors. He wouldn't dare," Dick said sleepily. He finally opened his eyes, smiling at Jason's grouchy face. "Don't you want to sleep in?"

"Yes," Jason said. "But we probably shouldn't. It's bad for the sore muscles. And it feels like you've got something to take care of. It's bruising my thigh."

Dick held out tightly for another second before letting go. Jason rolled out of his arms and sat up. He stretches, and Dick watches him lazily.

"What," Jason asked, joints popping and cracking. He grinned, letting his arms drop. "I'm a tiger, remember? A cat. I stretch with the most ridiculousness possible."

Jason then made his way to the bathroom, leaving Dick by himself. When he came out, he found that Dick had cocooned himself back into the blankets, sitting in the middle of the bed like a large baby. Only his eyes peeked out from the bundle.

Jason gave him an amused look before starting for Dick's clothes (technically they're Jason's anyway), pulling on a pair of jeans. Dick watched his every move, silently, in his large cocoon.

"Alfred is probably willing to whip up a late brunch up for us if we hurry," Jason called. "Tim's gone today, so we have the entire Manor to ourselves."

At that, Dick sprang out of the bed, pulling a faded band shirt over his head before running after Jason. He caught up with him at the stairs.

"Oh, so that's what's on your mind?" Jason asked with a snort.

Dick gave him a confused look. "Alfred's French toast?"

Jason snorted, shaking his head. "You're too nice, Dickie."

Dick did not understand what Jason was talking about, but he took it as a compliment anyway. He made a happy humming noise and leaned against Jason, letting their arms touch.

"So what's the plan for today?" Dick asked later, his mouth full of French toast. "You mentioned Tim gone. Where'd he go?"

"His friend Connor's house. Probably to play video games and eat junk all day."

Dick nodded, taking another huge bite. "So what are we doing?"

Jason shrugged. "I've got no plans today. We can do whatever."

They ended up just walking around the extensive grounds, hand in hand, just talking about nothing and everything. It felt so... normal. Dick wondered if this was what a normal life was like. If he could have had a normal life on Earth had he stayed. Maybe he would have grown up and met Jason anyway.

But whatever it was like, it could not be better than this. Dick could not imagine anything better than this. He looked at Jason, the way he talked, gesturing vividly, or the way he turned slightly to look at Dick, smiling. Jason had so many smiles, and Dick felt like he was the keeper of Jason's smiles. And he did not want to share them with anyone else.

"Hey, Dickie," Jason said. "Do you know how to play hide-and-seek?"

Dick made a face. "I do... though I've never played before, to my knowledge. Heard of it. And it's not as fun with reapers. They can turn invisible."

"Oh, that's comforting," Jason said. "Do you want to play?"

"Here? In the Manor?" Dick asked.

Jason nodded.

"Don't you have an unfair advantage? I've been here for a week and four days, Jason. You've lived her for who knows how many years."

"I'll go easy on you. You can even hide first. And we'll have a forfeit. If the seeker finds the hider, the hider tells the seeker a secret. And if the seeker gives up, he must tell a secret."

Dick stared at Jason hard. "Do you have a motive behind this?"

Jason groaned. "You've been hanging out with Tim for too long. Go hide." He started counting loudly.

Dick laughed and ran away, turning around a corner and disappearing. He ran up to the third floor, which as far as Dick knew, was mostly unused, aside from storage. He cracked open a door and slipped inside.

Dick closed the door again and sighed, turning around. He stopped and froze.

The thick smell of dust hung in the air, making it feel stuffy and dry, but this room was obviously not just an empty guest room. Dick knew that Alfred had meticulously covered all the furniture in unused rooms, so why had this room been bypassed?

Dick took a couple steps forward, taking in his surroundings.

This room was a little smaller than the guest room he was staying in, also a bit less lavish. The king sized bed had red sheets, just regular cotton sheets, not silk or satin. Dick ran his fingertips along the bed, his fingers coming away grey with dust. There were designs on the duvet, thick stripes of alternating shades of red. A large oak desk took up another corner, and a bookshelf in yet another. Trophies and figurines took up as much space on the bookshelf as books, which were carefully organized into every spot available.

Dick approached the desk first. The entire face of the desk was clean, free of papers or books of any kind. A couple dusty pictures sat on the shelf above it. An old lamp, its lightbulbs probably burnt out, stood next to it. Dick swiped a couple fingers across the front of one photo.

The first face that popped out at him was Jason's. A younger version, fifteen or so. He had his arms around two other people, both with fiery red hair. He and the boy were grinning, but the girl looked mildly annoyed as well as amused, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Dick smiled. They looked happy.

He set the photo down, his hand running over a rough area in the oak desk. Dick looked down, squinting. Carved into one corner were the initials, J.T. So it was Jason's old room. Why did he move then? And leave everything of his here still, uncovered?

Dick walked to the bookshelf, reading the old plates of the trophies, mostly academic awards, a few for something called cross country, and a lot of classic literature books. He did not know that Jason liked to read.

The door behind him opened, and Dick whirled around.

Jason stood in the doorway, his eyes roaming around the room, wide and vulnerable. They landed on Dick, who had been holding one of the trophies in his hand.

"Dick," Jason said in a low voice, still scanning the room. "What are you doing in here?"

Dick opened and closed his mouth a couple times. "I didn't mean to," he finally admitted. "I found it on accident, and I did not know it was your room until a few seconds ago!"

Jason pressed his lips together tightly. Then, he shook his head. "It's not my room anymore." Then he walked out. Dick quickly set down the trophy and followed Jason out. He found Jason sitting by the stairs, his eyes pinned straight ahead. Dick dropped to a seat beside him.

"Jay..."

"That was my room before Tim came along," he said.

"Oh. What happened after Tim came?" Dick asked softly.

Jason was quiet for a long time. "One of my best friends, Roy, he... he overdosed. Then, Kori moved to San Francisco. We used to- We used to spend a lot of time in my room, spending all nights awake. We thought it would be like that forever. I had only had the mantle of Robin for a year."

Jason took a shaky breath.

"You don't have to tell me," Dick said gently. "You found me, after all. I should be spilling the secrets."

Jason shook his head. "No, I think- I think it's time I told someone." He turned and looked at Dick. "I'm glad it's you, Dick."

Dick smiled and took his hand, intertwining their fingers. "I'm glad too."

Jason was silent for a while before continuing. "I had my run in with Joker a week after all that too. I got away rather unscathed, but it was then that I finally realized what the real world was like. It was not a joke anymore. The criminals out there actually kill people, they actively try to. Death happened around me all the time, and there I was, worrying about the next cross country meet or my English essay!"

Dick squeezed Jason's hand gently, a sign of reassurance. Jason took a deep breath and continued. "Tim came along around then too. I wasn't allowed on patrol for a month and was sent to live with one of Bruce's old friends in England for that month, "to find myself", Bruce said. I came back and found out that Tim had been given the mantle of Robin. I was furious. Went on this huge rampage in blind rage. I didn't know what the hell I was doing until Bruce pried the metal pipe from my shaking hands." Jason shook his head and gave Dick a sad look. "I killed a man that night, Dickie. I was so scared. I wasn't scared Bruce was going to kick me out. I had been prepared for that the moment he adopted me. But I was so fucking afraid of the look of disappointment, the bitter tightening of his lips, and the cold look in his eyes. I had tried nothing more than to be what he wanted, Dick. I tried, but I wasn't good enough."

He stopped there. "He's an idiot," Dick said gently.

"No, he isn't," Jason said, with a ferocity Dick had not been expecting. "Don't fucking say that! Because you don't know what he did next! He- He wasn't angry. He was disappointed, but not in me. He was mad at himself because he thought he had failed me. I remember that night so clearly. There was blood on my hands, soaked in my shirt and Bruce, Batman, came over, held out his arms, and hugged me. I started crying, and I remembered grabbing on to his cape so tightly because I thought if I let go, it would all break. He would throw me against the alley wall and walk away, wishing he never laid eyes on me. But he didn't, Dick! I thought I knew him before. I didn't. I was an idiot, not him. He might not be my father, but he was a good fucking man, and I respect him for that! I owe him that much," Jason finished bitterly. He glared at Dick, an expression Dick had not yet seen, not to this degree.

"I'm sorry," Dick said. He let go of Jason's hand, feeling the anger and bitterness rolling off of him. Dick tucked his hands between his thighs, looking down at his lap and squeezing his eyes shut. A horrible, sickening feeling filled his chest. Jason's glare seared into his closed eyelids. Dick felt like throwing up.

Bright lights.

Falling, falling, crumpled on the ground, unmoving.

Running forward, not fast enough.

That horrible, sickening feeling.

"I'm sorry," he choked out, not even sure who he was apologizing to. His head swam, he felt dizzy. Dick opened his eyes only to find that they were blurry with tears. What the fuck?

"Dick? Are you- Are you crying?" Jason asked, his voice cutting through Dick's nausea. "Why the fuck are you crying?"

"Wh-What?" Dick wiped as his tears, frowning slightly. "I don't- I don't know," he lied. The same horrible, sickening feeling welled up again. Dick had never lied before. He had no reason to. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."

But Dick knew exactly what came over him. It came hand in hand with the fluttery, fluffy feelings. Dick should have known sooner. It was so obvious, it was.

Death had, in the end, thwarted his sister's plan of revenge. Love made her brother fall in love, knowing fully well that Clark would die in the end. And die he did, but Life brought him back. So Love's plot for revenge had failed. And now, she had another chance, she did. It was not directly on Death himself, but on Dick. Dick knew he had been falling in love, so hard, with Jason. How else could it have worked out so well?

Dick knew what that meant. He was not going to have a happily ever after with Jason. No, he was going to end up failing Jason because he was stupidly human and had no means to stop whatever was going to happen.

Dick gritted his teeth together in anger. It was all his fault. Jason was probably going to end up getting hurt really bad, or even worse, dead. Dick felt like throwing up at that.

Sure, Dick had never been particular about death. Again, he grew up with it happening all around him. But to think that Jason could die soon, really soon? Dick already knew that it would crush him. It would destroy him if Jason died. Then, Dick would be entirely useless to Death.

So in the end, Love wins.

Dick laughed bitterly at that. How ironic?

"Dick, what's wrong?" Jason asked, a touch of urgency in his voice. He was worried.

Dick smiled. "Nothing," he said. Should he tell Jason? What if Jason blamed him for subjecting him to such a fate. Dick felt his stomach flip as he made the choice to stay silent, to shut up, and do his utmost to protect Jason until he left. Only three days.

"You sure?" Jason asked cautiously.

Dick nodded. "Yep! Everything's fine!" Why did lying come so easily to him? He had never lied before!

Jason gave him another look. Then, he held out his hand, waiting. Dick stared at it for a few moments. Jason shook his hand a little, staring pointedly at Dick. Dick took a shaky breath then slid his hand into Jason's, closing his eyes for a moment when their skin touched.

Dick felt horrible. He felt like he was physically poisoning Jason with his every touch, like he was killing Jason himself, and Jason did not even know it. But he still kept his hand in Jason's.

"You owe me a secret, don't you?" Jason asked, his voice a light tease.

Dick opened his eyes, glad they did not water. "I do," he said.

"Well?"

You're going to die, and it's going to be my fault. Dick did not say that. He could not say that. Saying that would mean that Love won already. He kept his mouth stubbornly shut. But he could play Love's game, he could. Dick was going to prove a worthy adversary. "Jason... I love you."

Jason was silent. "You... what?"

"I love you."

Dick waited and waited for a response, but Jason did not say anything. Ah, so that's what Love was playing at.

"It's okay," Dick said slowly. "I understand if you don't feel the same. I don't expect you to." He really did not. Love was his aunt. He knew her as well as anyone knew her. She was a cruel bitch as much as she was generous. Apparently Dick's relations to Death made him the enemy now. "But that wasn't much of a secret, was that? Did it count? Hm, I'll tell you something else then." He swallowed hard. "I don't want to leave. Earth, that is. I want to stay here. I like it here."

"Then- Then why do you have to leave?"

"Death said I had to."

"You're twenty-five, Dick. You're an adult. You can do what you want."

"Guess I could," Dick mused. "But no," he sighed. "I don't think I was meant to be on Earth."

"What's that supposed to mean? You were born here, weren't you? If you weren't meant to be on Earth, you wouldn't have been born here."

"Well, Death doesn't exactly sire children, Jay," Dick pointed out. "Besides, Fate doesn't have control over her siblings. They make their own choices. So Death's choice to bring me here was not Fate's work."

"So you think you weren't meant to be here right now?"

"Truthfully?"

"No, I want you to lie to me, Dick," Jason's sarcastic reply was refreshing.

Dick gave a wry laugh. "No, I don't think I'm supposed to be here. Which is why I plan on making the absolute most of it, since I don't think I'll get another chance."

Jason took in a sharp breath. "Dickie..."

"Don't worry, I've accepted that."

"How much longer do you have?" Jason asked softly.

Dick shrugged. Three days. "Dunno."

* * *

Tim had gone off on his own. Jason and Dick stuck together.

They spoke sparingly, the atmosphere of that night's patrol a lot heavier than the previous. They had diverted a hit-and-run and caught a couple drug dealers. Dick took a heavy metal wrench to the wrist, which was now throbbing continuously, but Dick did not mention it.

Then, two robbers ran past a group of girls after a late night, grabbing their purses and running off in opposite directions.

"Go after that one!" Jason barked, taking off after the other one. Dick did not hesitate, changing path and running after the first robber. Dick followed him through a couple alleyways, a few twists and turns and finally caught up to him, tripping him with some wire.

Dick made quick work of tying him up, gathering up the two purses and returning them to the terrified girls. Jason had yet to come back. Dick went back to where he had left the other robber. But as he passed an alleyway, he heard a muffled scream, and he stopped.

Two shapes deep in the darkness, making muffled sounds, some curses, some crying. Dick ran forward, grabbing the rapist off the girl. She collapsed, crying and breathing hard. The rapist growled at Dick, grabbing him and throwing him into the wall.

It jarred Dick, but he was not about to let the man continue his sick acts. Dick grabbed the man's leg and slammed his elbow into the man's kneecap, as hard as he could. Dick was strong, he knew, but he was not exactly expecting the crack he heard.

The girl screamed. The man toppled forward, his hand in his coat. He pulled out something, metal flashing and Dick moved his head out of the way just as the knife came towards his face. Dick grabbed his hand and twisted it, the knife clattering to the ground.

Running footsteps, and Dick looked up to see Jason running towards him, Tim not far behind him.

"Nightwing," Jason growled. "Get the girl out of here."

Dick's mouth nearly dropped open. He was in the middle of fending off this rapist, and Jason asked him to 'get the girl out of here'?

Dick tried to stand up, but the man pulls out a gun, shooting twice. Dick ducked, hearing the clinks of the bullets bouncing off the bricks above his head. Jason rushed forward, pulling the man to his feet, snatching the gun out of his hand. He punched the man in the face, definitely breaking his nose.

Tim comes up behind the man, hooking his arm around the man's neck. The man bites down on his arm, and Tim cried out, stumbling back. Dick's ears were still ringing from the shots, but he manages to stick his leg out and the man trips over it, landing on his back.

"Nightwing!" Jason yelled. "I said-"

"I know," Dick snapped. "I heard!" He gets to his feet, hurrying over to the girl, who was on her knees, sobbing, her clothes askew and wrinkled. "Hey, hey, we're here to help, okay? You're going to be okay," he said in his most soothing voice, gently putt his hands on her shoulders

There was a loud cry behind him.

A gunshot rang out, and Dick crashed to the floor hard. He landed on his back, the breath knocked out of him. Jason lay on top of him, breathing hard. Another gunshot, and Tim's loud, "NO!"

Then, silence. Jason scrambled off of Dick, and Dick sat up, his head throbbing.

The three of them looked at the scene in front of them silently.

The girl stared off into the distance, her eyes blank and empty, blood gushing from her chest and soaking her pink shirt. The rapist lay on the ground, blood pooling around his head, the gun still in his slack hand.

"Fuck," Jason breathed. "No, no, no." He got to his feet. Then, he kicked the gun, hard. It went skidding, disappearing under a Dumpster.

Tim slumped against the wall, looking like all the energy had been drained from him just like that. "They're dead," he said.

Dick just stared, his eyes flitting between the two dead bodies, then Tim and Jason. He did not know what to make of it.

Half an hour later, back in the cave, Jason pulled the helmet off his head, throwing it across the cave. His eyes were furious, his mouth pulled in a deep frown. Tim looked equally miserable, but not angry. He sat silently in a chair, his arm draped over his eyes.

Jason paced the room angrily, and Dick watched silently, leaning against the metal stairs.

"It's not your fault, Jay," Dick said gently. "I told you before, if they were meant to die, there would be nothing you could do to stop it."

Jason growled at him. "They weren't meant to die, Dick! It would have been so easy to save both of them!"

"Jason..."

"No! They didn't have to die! Don't you understand? They could still be alive, Dick!"

Dick frowned. "But they're not. So you don't have to keep being so upset."

"I could have saved them."

"No, you couldn't because they're dead," Dick pointed out yet again. "They were meant to die. You would have saved them if they were meant to live."

Jason laughed bitterly. "You say it's not my fault, but your words make it sound very much like I should have saved them, but I was too stupidly slow or something," he spat.

"I didn't say that."

"You implied it."

"No, I didn't," Dick said, his eyebrows furrowing. "I'm just saying you couldn't have saved them."

"Because I saved you instead," Jason finally said. "Because I pushed you out of the way instead of her."

A loud ringing silence filled the cave after he said those words. Even Tim looked up, removing his arm and his eyes flitting between Jason and Dick.

Dick swallowed. "Okay," he said softly. "You're right," he said. "Maybe you should have saved her instead." He turned and started heading up the stairs.


	8. Empathy

Dick stayed up all night.

Everything hurt.

Physically, he was sore and bruised in several places, but that was not even the worst of it. Dick could ignore those pains. But he could not ignore the feeling in his chest.

Jason had not denied what Dick said. He had more than enough time to. But he did not. He stayed silent and watched Dick walk upstairs. Maybe... just maybe... Jason really had made the wrong choice?

Fate was not expecting for Dick to be on Earth. She would not expect Love to continue her plan of revenge. She would have to work around these things. Maybe the girl was not supposed to die, but because of Love, because of Death, because of Dick, she did.

The sick turning of Dick's stomach made him close his eyes a moment. He was not feeling sick over the girl's death. He was feeling sick because that is what Jason believed. He was feeling sick because he was the cause of someone's death, not just a witness.

And on top of that, Dick had to shoulder the weight of the fact that Jason was going to die, again, probably because of Dick. He actually felt disgusting in his own skin. Jason, who instinctively pushed Dick out of the way of harm, but regret it later. Jason, the person who showed Dick around the city, and made the past two weeks the absolute best thing that ever happened. Jason, the person Dick put on a pedestal above the sun, the moon, and the stars. Jason, who might not love Dick, but Dick loved more than anything, anyone else.

Jason, who was going to die because of all that.

Dick cursed quietly to the darkness of his room. He screwed his eyes shut. He should have never asked Death to bring him here. Because in doing so, he just sentenced the two people he loved best to a horrible fate they had no control over.

Dick knew how this would all play out. And it was not pretty.

After all, when it came to revenge, only the worst could happen. For Jason, he would meet an early death. For Dick, he would lose Jason. For Death, he would lose Dick. A bitter smile grew on Dick's face.

He thought of his aunts, Love and Fate. They were both physically beautiful, and Dick always thought of them as pretty good people. Love, while sharp tongued and full of witty, sarcastic replies, first introduced Dick to the wonders of Earth. She would tell him the greatest love stories. Only now did Dick realize how they always ended in tragic death and a cold smile from Love. Fate had always been Dick's secret favorite after Death. Fate was funny, bright, and full of joy. She was willing to take risks and lend a listening ear when no one else had the time. She was the only one that treated Dick like he was not broken during the first year he spent at the Palace.

He thought of his uncle, Death's twin brother, Life. Dick did not see Life very often, since Life actually had a lot of work to do. He had no attendants like the reapers at the Palace. He was alone in his Courtyard. Death usually visited the Courtyard instead of Life coming over to the Palace.

While Life was generally more jovial than Death, they were twins. When it came down to it, Life could be a cold and emotionless as Death always seemed. On the other hand, Death had a secret soft side, one he showed in private to a select few. Sometimes, his monotonous voice could soften to a calming drawl, which Dick had grown fond of.

But now that Dick thought about it, everyone but Death was cruel. Love, Fate, Life, all of them. He wanted to sob at that thought.

Dick always considered himself some sort of exception. That he was different from other humans because he knew them personally. But they apparently did not see things the same way as Dick. If anything, they paid more attention to him.

That night, Dick stared at the ceiling until grey light started filtering through his curtains and the birds started chirping outside.

* * *

Jason slept in with his door locked the next morning. When he did get up around noon, he walked into the kitchen where Alfred and Dick had been chatting. Dick had a large bowl in front of him and was currently making the salad.

Jason trampled in, took one look at Dick, who opened his mouth to say something, but Jason glared at him and stomped out before he could get a word in.

Dick slumped dejectedly in a chair.

"What did I do, Alfred?" Dick asked the older, wiser man.

"I believe Master Jason is upset at the fact that you did not care that someone had died last night," Alfred said calmly.

Dick scoffed. "But deaths happen every day. No one can stop them. If they were meant to be stopped, they will be stopped. If not, they can't. He knows that."

"You see, Master Dick," Alfred said. "Normally, people believe that can control their own fates and they make their own choices. Jason believed that he could have saved the lady."

"But instead he saved me, I know," Dick grumbled. "Besides, he couldn't have saved her anyway, even if he had tried. I know Fate. She's my aunt. She decided that lady should have died. It wasn't Jason's fault. Nor was it mine."

"No, it wasn't your fault," Alfred said. "But Jason likes placing blame. If not on himself then on someone else. Master Jason was not instituting that it was your fault. He's upset at your lack of empathy."

"Empathy."

"Yes, he's upset the lady died because she also had a family. She had kids and a husband. Now her family, her friends, her parents, they're all suffering. And both Master Jason and Master Tim empathize with that."

"They don't even know the lady."

"No," Alfred agreed. "But that's just human empathy. They're all human, so they all feel on the same level. Besides, both Master Jason and Master Tim have known loss. They've known death. So they empathize."

Dick frowned. "My parents died."

"But you don't remember."

"No, I don't. Not really at least. I remember crying a lot, but after that, I don't remember being sad at all. I just... didn't care anymore. Death wasn't something I cared about. It was superficial. It was just another day to day event for me." Dick sighed heavily. He was silent for a beat.

Hearing Alfred say those words only confirmed what Dick had been feeling inside. He had always known he was missing something, a part of his soul. It never bothered him until now. But of course it would be important now. Still, Dick said, "Hey, Alfred. Thanks... for hearing me out, I guess."

"You're very welcome, Master Dick. I'm always here to lend an ear."

Dick left the salad and wandered the Manor instead. He wound up in the library, where he spent the entire afternoon reading books. It was his last day on Earth. Death was coming to pick him up tomorrow.

Dick sighed heavily and closed the book he was reading. He headed down to the Batcave, glad to find it void of people. Then, he spent two hours venting all his frustration and anger out into the punching bag.

Finally, as dinnertime rolled around, Alfred came to find him. All four of them sat in the small table in the kitchen. Dick pushed miserably at his food, Tim ate sparingly, glancing between Dick and Jason. Jason stabbed viciously at his plate, glaring at Dick the entire time.

As dinner went on silently and slowly, Dick became more and more upset. He had felt it building up for some time now, and there was so much of it he had no idea how much was actually pointed towards Jason. Probably none of it, really.

"Stop glaring at me!" he snapped.

Jason scoffed. "Well, I'd rather not talk to you, so I'm expressing my anger through glaring."

"It's not my fault I don't have a sense of empathy, okay?!" Dick yelled. He could feel the frustrations of that day building up quickly. It felt like it was clogged up in his throat, bursting to get out. "I've lived nearly all my life in the Palace of Death, where all I experienced was exactly that! Death! It was normal for me. It was like seeing people drive down the streets every day for you! It never crossed my mind that people were hurting because of the deaths!"

"Of course you didn't think about it," Jason said, crossing his arms. "You don't seem to think about anything!"

"It's not my fault I'm missing a part of my soul. I didn't know it made a difference in who I was as a person. But apparently it does," Dick choked out. His eyes were clouding with tears. This might be the first time he's cried since his parents' death fifteen years ago. "Apparently that little piece of me that's missing prevents you from loving me. But guess what? Even though I'm broken and defective, I still love you more than anything, Jason Todd, and you've made the past two weeks the best weeks of my life." Tears finally rolled down his cheeks, and Dick could no longer see Jason. He was just a dark blur. Dick took a deep, shaky breath. He stood up, pushing his chair back and wiped at his eyes. "I'm leaving tomorrow anyway. It doesn't matter anymore."

Dick looked up, avoiding Jason. He did not want to see his expression. He did not want to feel that horrible shattering feeling in his heart again. Instead, Dick nodded at Tim and at Alfred.

"Tim, Alfred. Thanks for everything." Dick took a step backwards. "Take care."

It was better this way. Jason might be safer this way. If Dick left now, he could live. He could live and forget and move on, and the entire crisis would be avoided. Dick tried his hardest to convince himself of that. He took another step backwards, memorizing the three blurs in his vision as best as he could.

Then, he fled.


	9. Death Will Come For Me

Dick sat on top of the building where Jason first found him. He had been sitting there for a long, long time. Sunrise was just a few hours away, in fact.

Dick had been watching the stars. They shone just as brightly as the day Dick arrived. But the atmosphere was different somehow.

The first time Dick sat there, he had a hopeful heart and an amazed mind. Now, his heart hurt and everything felt heavy.

Dick had cried so much since he sat down. No one was around to hear him anyway. And he had long since ran out of tears. He just sniffled dryly. The night wind blew around him, cold, sharp, unforgiving. It felt like Jason's glares, but those stung deeper.

Dick's legs dangled off of the side of the building. For a moment, he wondered what it would be like to jump off and not try to stick his landing. If he just let himself tumble towards the earth and hit the ground. Would Fate let him live? Probably not. Fate was his favorite aunt, but Fate herself had no favorites.

Then, behind him, footsteps crunched on gravel. Jason.

"If you came to apologize," Dick said tiredly. "Don't bother. I don't- I don't care anyway."

Jason did not respond. He stayed silent, still slowly making his way forward towards Dick.

"Just go. Finish your patrols before the sun comes up. Don't want to be caught out in the sun," he grumbled. "Death's coming for me soon anyway."

A deep, cold laugh rang out behind him. "Yes, death is coming for you soon."

Before Dick could spin around, a sharp, excruciating pain plunged through him. Dick gasped and fell backwards onto his back.

Whoever stabbed him laughed and ran. Dick reached down with trembling fingers and felt the blade of a knife, its tip sticking through his chest. His hand was coated in blood.

Blood gurgled up his throat, and Dick coughed. Blood spewed everywhere and the knife sank deeper into him. Dick turned his head up, looking at the stars. They started to blur around the edges.

He had been wrong.

Dick blinked slowly at the lightening sky. It suddenly dawned on him, in his hazy state of mind, just how wrong he had been. No, Love's plan was even better than he had conceived.

Hurting Dick was not the best way to get revenge on Death. No, killing him was. Dick should have known. Taking him away from Death was a much better than rendering him useless. Dick felt like an utter idiot. He apologized silently to his adopted father, wherever he may be.

And Jason. Dick hoped he would never find out. That he would just think that Dick left Earth and was never heard from again. Jason may not have loved Dick, but he cared quite a bit. Dick closed and opened his eyes slowly again. He had failed Jason so spectacularly, it was almost laughable. Jason believed that nothing good would ever come from him getting close to someone. And Dick just had to go prove him right. He probably deserved to die for bringing so much pain.

Suddenly, a scream and urgent footsteps from behind him.

Large hands grabbed his shoulders. "Dick, Dick, no, please, no. Dickie, stay awake, please!"

This was Jason.

Dick blinked slowly, trying to make his vision clear. Jason was here. Fuck, no, Jason was here. As horrible as it was, Dick managed a little smile. It was all the comfort he could offer him now. "J-Jay..."

"Don't talk," Jason said. Dick heard cloth ripping. "Red, please, please get here! Dick's hurt. He's- He's hurt really bad. Please come."

Dick felt himself being lifted into a sitting position. He felt dizzy, and he lurched forward, nearly pitching off the side of the building. Jason's grip on him tightened.

"I'm going to take the knife out and I'm going to patch you up, okay?" Jason said shakily. "Then, we're going to go back to Manor and you're going to be okay. Okay, Dick? Dick, answer me," Jason pleaded. His voice was strained.

Dick felt blood running out of the corner of his mouth. He barely felt the knife being removed from his chest or the gush of blood. Jason started tightly wrapping his chest up.

"Jay..." Dick whispered wetly. "I love you. You're- You're going to be okay..."

"Stop talking," Jason said. "You're losing a lot of blood. C'mon, just stay awake for me. Dickie..."

Dick smiled a little. He reached out and grabbed Jason's wrist, stopping him. "'M not gonna make it." He could not tell if his skin was clammy or if Jason's was. Or which one of them was shaking like a leaf.

"You don't know that, Dickie," Jason said. Was he crying? He could not be that upset of Dick dying, could he? He was not that upset over the girl last night. "You'll make it, you'll make it. You have to make it."

But Dick only smiled wider. "No, I'm won't." Dick knew this because materializing above Jason's worried face was the face of Death in all his true glory. But that melted away quickly enough, into Death's human form. Seriously? Why was everyone crying?

"Hey, B," Dick managed. He coughed again.

"B?" Jason demanded. "Who's B? Dick, who are you talking to?"

"Sorry I- Sorry I went and... got myself killed," Dick slurred. "Don't- Don't be sad, okay?"

"No, you're not dead yet, Dickie. Don't say that. Don't say that, please. Don't go." Jason clutched Dick's hand tightly.

"Dick..." Bruce said. He knelt down, invisible to Jason, on Dick's other side. Dick turned his head to him.

"And I- I never thanked you..." Dick said. "For... raising me... and granting me this- this one wish..."

Bruce shook his head. "Dick, I am sorry. I was so distracted I did not even see your name on the list. Fuck, I should have never left you on Earth alone."

Jason seemed to connect the dots. He looked from Dick to the empty space Dick was talking to. "Is he there? Death?" he asked.

Dick nodded a little. "He's here. Here to take me back."

"No, don't take him, please," Jason begged to the empty expanse. "Not yet. I didn't- I didn't... Don't take him from me yet," Jason sobbed as he crumpled against Dick's shoulder.

Dick laughed weakly. "Jason... it's okay. I don't care about death, 'member? Doesn't- Doesn't matter to me."

"It matters to me, Dick!" Jason yelled into Dick's shoulder. "You matter to me, Dick... so please, don't go."

"'S not my choice," Dick whispered. He leaned his head against Jason's. Jason raised his head slowly, eyes wide and swimming with tears.

Jason gently touched Dick's face. "I'll come with you," he suddenly said. "Take me too, then, Death! I won't leave him! Take me too!" He screamed at the city.

Dick stiffened. He grabbed Jason's shoulder, even though it hurt his chest. "No," Dick said with surprising clarity. "It's not your time. And Tim needs you. Don't forget he's lost a lot too. Don't make him lose you too. You're going to be okay."

Jason let out a broken sob. "Even if I throw myself off this building right now?" he asked. "Would my time come then?"

Dick could feel himself weakening fast. "No, Jason. Don't. Please."

Jason slumped against him in resignation. Then, Dick turned to Bruce, who looked torn.

"I'm ready, B," Dick said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Dick, I'm so so sorry," Bruce told him, over and over again. Then, standing behind Bruce was his brother. Life placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder.

"I am sorry, brother," he said gently. "But there is nothing you can do now, but ease his pain."

Dick gave Life a weak smile. "Thank you," he said.

"What's happening, Dick?" Jason demanded. "Who's there?"

Dick turned to Jason one last time. He tried his best to memorize Jason's face, imagining him smiling, not crying. "I love you, Jay. Love you, love you, love you so much." He let out a breathy laugh. "I'm leaving now."

Jason started sobbing anew again. "I- I love you too, Dick," he finally managed. It sounded like it pained him to say it. It sounded like goodbye.

Dick smiled, turning his gaze up towards the heavens, looking at the stars one last time as Bruce reached over and grabbed his other hand.

Dick took one last silent breath, and he never exhaled.

And as the sun climbed up into Gotham's skies, and the city started waking up, unknown to the secrets of the night before, Tim finally touched down on the rooftop.

He ran over, but stopped a few feet away.

Jason sat at the edge of the building, cradling Dick's dead body in his arms, crying and gently smoothing his hair back over and over again. He let out a broken sob and gently closed Dick's eyes.

Tim approached cautiously, a hard lump forming in his throat. He dropped to his knees on the other side of Dick.

He looked like he was asleep, just taking a well-deserved nap, flying among the stars with a small smile on his lifeless face.


	10. What Dick Deserves

"I want to take him back," Bruce argued as Life pulled him back from ripping Dick's body from Jason's grip. "No, stop it! I want him back!"

"I'm sorry, brother," Life said, sounding upset as well.

"He deserves a proper burial!" Bruce roared, blinded by grief. Dick was dead. Dick, the young, cheerful boy that never stopped smiling and wanted nothing more than happiness for everyone, and had brought more light to the Palace than anyone.

"He will get one," Life said.

Bruce finally gave in. He let Life hold him as he cried. Life watched Jason as he comforted his brother.

"Their souls would have eventually melded, you know?" Life murmured.

"What use is it telling me that?" Bruce asked.

Life shrugged, pulling away. "Maybe that boy is someone special."

Bruce sneered in disgust. "He's just another pawn in Love's games. This is what she was talking about. Death ruining her little plans. This is why she did this. Her plan of revenge finally worked, didn't it?"

"You know very well it was not your fault," Life said sharply. "It was not anyone's fault. Dick's death could have been made by his choice last night or maybe it was last week. Only Fate knows. And even then, it is not her fault either. You cannot blame anyone for this."

Bruce swallowed hard. He suddenly pulled in all his emotions until he was just staring coldly at Jason and Dick. Finally, he stepped forward towards him.

The sudden crunching of gravel made Jason and Tim look up. Both their eyes widened. Their eyes then flashed to the person besides him. Jason bared his teeth.

Life sighed heavily. He knelt down next to Dick's body, ignoring the way Jason clutched him harder.

"Jason Todd," Life said. "I am Life. This is my brother, Death," he gestured to Bruce.

Jason's narrowed eyes shifted between the two of them. "Is this some sick joke for you?" he finally spat.

Life's face became confused. "A sick joke? No, of course not. My brother did not wish for Dick to die either. And all he asks is to take Dick's body back to the Palace for a proper burial."

Jason scoffed. Then, he turned on Bruce. "It's all your fault. Dick's death, my- my mentor's death, the deaths of all those innocent people in this city! Why did they have to die?" he exclaimed. "They did not deserve to! They had no reason to! You just had to take every good person in this world, didn't you? Didn't you?!"

Bruce narrowed his eyes at Jason, not letting his demeanor break. "It is not my choice who's life to take. I take no pleasure in doing so either. I just- I just want Dick."

"Don't pretend you care. You're Death. You killed Dick. You're heartless," Jason spat.

"Jay..." Tim put a hand on Jason's shoulder. "I don't think you want to anger them. They're infinitely more powerful than we are."

"I don't fucking care, Tim!" Jason yelled. "They took Dick, so they might as well take me as well!"

Life sighed. "Jason Todd, we do not wish to do this by force. All we ask for is to bring Dick back home."

Jason shook his head furiously. "Fuck you! He's staying on Earth! He was born here and he died here. You have no right to take him to whatever inhuman place you live in."

Bruce opened his mouth to argue, but Life put a hand on his arm. "He is right, brother. Dick is human. Maybe... he deserves to stay on Earth."

Bruce gave Life a wounded look. Finally, he nodded, not trusting himself to speak. "Okay." He let Life lead him away. Bruce cast one final glance at Dick's body in Jason's arms.

Then, they left Earth.

Bruce stumbled into his room in the Palace of Death. Immediately, Clark was on his feet and rushing over.

"Bruce..." he tried.

Bruce shook his head. "No, please."

Clark pulled him into a rough hug, holding him tightly. Then, Bruce broke down into tears again. "I'm so sorry," Clark whispered.

Life walked in, releasing his human form. Bruce pulled away from a moment.

"Brother," he started with a shaky breath. "Can you...?"

Life shook his head sadly. "You want me to do the same I did with Clark's soul," he guessed. "I cannot. Dick's soul is broken. It is not whole anymore. I cannot reuse it, or put it into another body."

Bruce held out his fist, facing upwards. He slowly opened it. In the center of his palm, a soft white light glowed. It was a ball of white wisps, swirling around. In other words, it was beautiful.

"Then keep him somewhere safe, please. Send him on somewhere good, but- but keep his soul safe," Bruce said, his voice breaking. "He deserves that much."


	11. EPILOGUE: The Clearing in the Woods

Dick Grayson had a small funeral.

He was buried in a small clearing in the woods at the edge of the Wayne property. It had a clear, unobstructed view of the stars.

Few attended, but Dick would not have minded. Then, as his coffin was closed and he was set in the ground, everyone took a moment at his grave.

Barbara went first.

She recounted some of the adventures they'd had in the short two weeks. She talked about how they met, and how Dick had thoroughly confused everyone to no end.

"Even though I only knew you for two weeks," she said. "It felt like I knew you for a lifetime. I think... had things been different, in another world or something, I could have known you so much better." She sniffled. "We could have known you so much better." She paused a moment before stepping back.

Tim also said a few words. He did not have much to say, but he seemed equally as upset as Barbara.

He thanked Dick first and foremost for every smile, every joke, every flip off the banister. He also thanked Dick for making Jason that much happier in the weeks he had been on Earth. This drew a soft sob from Jason.

Alfred did not say anything, but he put his hand on the headstone and stood there for a long time, silent, and head bent down. Then, he drew a handkerchief and wiped his eyes before backing away again.

Alfred put a hand on Jason's shoulder.

"Would you like to be alone?" he asked quietly.

Jason nodded.

And so Alfred, Tim and Barbara walked away from the little clearing back to the small dirt road where the car was parked.

Jason took a deep breath before walking forward. "Dickie," he finally broke down. He fell to his knees beside the gaping hole in the ground, and the closed wooden coffin at the bottom of it.

"Fuck, Dick, why'd you go? You walked out after our argument, and I had been so angry I almost let you leave for good. But Alfred and Tim convinced me to go find you. And- And had I just been one hour less stubborn, maybe I could have changed everything."

Jason took a shaky breath, sobs and hiccups making it nearly impossible. "I keep feeling like it's my fault. And I know you'd tell me it isn't, you'd say something about your aunt Fate and-" he cut himself off. "But it doesn't reassure that feeling inside me."

He paused for a while, collecting his rambling thoughts a bit. "You told me you loved me several times, and I only told you once. Because I was scared. I had fallen for you in a week's time and I was so scared I was rushing things. That I was going to be heartbroken at the end of all of it. But fuck, had I know we only had two weeks. That you'd only have two weeks left? I wouldn't have hesitated to tell you on that first night."

Another beat. "Sometimes, I feel like you knew all along that you were going to die. And that's why you were so reckless, so happy and carefree. Or maybe you were a test or a-" he was cut off by a dry sob. "I'm sorry, Dickie. I'm so so sorry!" He was crying freely now, not caring what he looked like or the fact he could barely breathe and speak at the same time. "You didn't deserve to die. I'd give my life to have you for one more day."

Jason cried silently after that. He could not bear to say more. It hurt enough as is. Finally, he stood. He looked down at the coffin. He wanted to climb into that hole and lie there, and just let the grave fillers burying him alive, under the stars with Dick.

"I love you," he choked out before hurrying out of the clearing.

A serene silence filled the clearing.

Two beings stood invisible at the edge of the circle of trees. Together, they approached the grave.

One, clad in black robes, holding a tall staff that had a large sickle-like blade at the end knelt by the grave. The other, an exact copy of the first, but dressed in billowing white and held a twisted, budding tree branch.

Death procured something from within his robes. It was a vial of white, swirling mist-like substance. He carefully poured it out into the grave. He watched as it settled like a thin sheet over the coffin. It shimmered for a moment before going invisible.

Death then turned away.

Life put his hand on Death's shoulder, silently comforting his brother. And while Death had his back turned, Life flicked a tiny ball of white into the grave as well. It shimmered, then vanished.

Death reached out, his dark hand hovering over the grass. He pressed down, the small green plants, shriveled and died, leaving a black handprint. In the years to come, many visitors to the grave would puzzle over the handprint, as it did not look human.

Death stood. Life waved his hand, and little blue flowers sprouted around the clearing, unfurling their leaves and turning their faces towards the sky. They filled the clearing with life and color.

The two beings took a moment, looking around the clearing for another moment longer.

Then, they disappeared, as if blown away by the gentle breeze that passed through, just as the grave fillers trampled into the clearing.

They stood, looking baffled at the clearing because they were sure there had not been hundreds of tiny blue flowers there when they first dug the grave.

* * *

FIVE YEARS LATER

Darkness, everywhere.

Stale air.

A suffocatingly small space.

A ghost of a pain in the chest.

Then, Dick Grayson's eyes snapped open.

* * *

 **A/N ~ Hey! Sorry about all the tears and the pain I may have caused you. I cried while writing it, and I cried while attempting to edit it. I hope you liked it anyway, and I will post the last story as soon as finish writing (and publishing) it on AO3. If you want to read it immediately, my username is GraySonOfGotham.**

 **Cheerio,**

 **~Jessica**


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